KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires New Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 158,663 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,900,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in Fortive by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortive by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 1.7% during the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 8,854 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in Fortive by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,696 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value of $457,997.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,795,793.32. This represents a 10.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $15,763,884.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,509,043.38. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.64.

Fortive Stock Up 1.5 %

FTV opened at $75.92 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.92. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $66.15 and a 1-year high of $86.21. The stock has a market cap of $25.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.56%.

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.