7,779,907 Shares in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Purchased by Dodge & Cox

Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,779,907 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $583,493,000. Dodge & Cox owned 2.24% of Fortive at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 186.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its position in Fortive by 28.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total value of $237,308.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,585.65. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $15,763,884.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,509,043.38. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FTV shares. BNP Paribas cut Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.92.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,534,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,372,628. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $60.39 and a 12 month high of $83.32. The firm has a market cap of $22.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $73.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Fortive's payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

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.