Aviva PLC Trims Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Aviva PLC lowered its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 211,039 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 5,914 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Fortive worth $15,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Fortive by 186.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.95, for a total value of $519,115.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,283 shares in the company, valued at $1,941,425.85. The trade was a 21.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 corporate insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on FTV shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.33.

Fortive Trading Up 1.6 %

FTV traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $64.81. 4,267,497 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,362,345. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $60.39 and a 12 month high of $83.66. 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's 50-day moving average is $75.19 and its 200 day moving average is $76.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 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 previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Fortive's payout ratio is 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.