Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Stake Lessened by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp lowered its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,982 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,587 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Fortive were worth $899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Fortive by 186.8% in the 4th 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. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its holdings in Fortive by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $457,997.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 47,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,795,793.32. This trade represents a 10.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

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Fortive Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Fortive stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $74.66. The company had a trading volume of 2,089,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,133,652. The company has a market cap of $25.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's fifty day moving average is $78.70 and its 200-day moving average is $76.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Fortive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FTV shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced 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 downgraded shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.64.

Fortive Company Profile

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.