Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 18,725 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,399,765 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 18,725 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.69% of Fortive worth $179,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 28.6% in 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Price Performance

NYSE FTV traded down $3.62 on Friday, hitting $64.00. 4,863,448 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,277,389. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $63.26 and a 52 week high of $84.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $77.39 and a 200-day moving average of $76.86. 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 stock has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16.

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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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current 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 given 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 0.50%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total transaction of $237,308.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,349,585.65. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.18.

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.