Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) CEO James A. Lico Sells 196,117 Shares

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 approximately $42,509,043.38. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of FTV stock opened at $79.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $27.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.47 and its 200 day moving average is $76.38. Fortive Co. has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share 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 firm posted $0.98 EPS. Research analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s payout ratio is 13.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

Institutional Trading of Fortive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Fortive in the third quarter worth $25,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fortive in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Fortive by 186.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

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.