Charles E. Mclaughlin Sells 32,085 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Stock

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,296.36. The trade was a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Fortive Price Performance

NYSE FTV traded down $1.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $77.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,638,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,649. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.68, a PEG 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.65.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Fortive during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Fortive by 186.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.