Barclays PLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Barclays PLC lowered its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 38.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 514,378 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 320,208 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.15% of Fortive worth $38,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FTV. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 186.8% during 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 during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value of $457,997.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 47,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,795,793.32. This represents a 10.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529 in the last three months. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded up $2.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.37. 289,500 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,368,102. The company has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.68. 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 1 year low of $60.39 and a 1 year high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) 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 return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Fortive's payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FTV shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.92.

Fortive 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.