Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Invests $5.14 Million in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. bought a new stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 68,540 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,140,000. Fortive comprises approximately 2.1% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 15.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 395,488 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,216,000 after buying an additional 51,690 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 4.8% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,932 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 197.0% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,264 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 10,125 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fortive by 2.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 406,085 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Fortive during the third quarter worth about $1,346,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. The trade was a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at $3,702,336.68. The trade was a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Fortive Trading Up 1.6 %

FTV stock traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,400,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,139,188. The firm has a market cap of $26.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $87.10. The company's 50-day moving average price is $76.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.71.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. Fortive's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Fortive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Fortive from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $92.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.64.

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.