Insider Selling: Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) SVP Sells $237,308.10 in Stock

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total transaction of $237,308.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,585.65. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Fortive Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $77.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. Fortive Co. has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $78.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.72.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 13.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 186.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on FTV. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fortive in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

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.