Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys New Shares in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,024 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,474,000. Fortive accounts for 1.0% of Machina Capital S.A.S.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Fortive by 2.9% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 165,769 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,293,000 after purchasing an additional 4,660 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Fortive by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,199 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,828,000 after purchasing an additional 134,259 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 832,888 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,326,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Fortive by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 4,816 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Fortive by 111.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,176,655 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,637,000 after buying an additional 620,866 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total value of $739,036.98. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,689,743.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Fortive news, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $425,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,676,445. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total value of $739,036.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,689,743.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,937 shares of company stock worth $5,475,122 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on FTV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Fortive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial started coverage on Fortive in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Fortive from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.46.

Fortive Stock Performance

FTV stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,443,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,707,987. The firm has a market cap of $27.12 billion, a PE ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.15. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $63.05 and a 1-year high of $87.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 14.68%. On average, analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.65%.

About Fortive

Fortive Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and services professional and engineered products, software, and services in the United States, China, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions. The Intelligent Operating Solutions segment provides advanced instrumentation, software, and services, including electrical test and measurement, facility and asset lifecycle software applications, and connected worker safety and compliance solutions for manufacturing, process industries, healthcare, utilities and power, communications and electronics, and other industries.