Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) CAO Christopher M. Mulhall Sells 6,493 Shares

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 24,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,941,425.85. This represents a 21.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $79.00. 3,558,248 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,559,711. Fortive Co. has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $87.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FTV. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.64.

Institutional Trading of Fortive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $42,686,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $1,031,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Fortive by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,853 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Fortive by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 6,958 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 3,034 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

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.