KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 158,663 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $11,900,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position 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 buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.18.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total value of $237,308.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,585.65. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the company'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 transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at $42,509,043.38. The trade was 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 over the last ninety days. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.50. 122,745 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,130,166. The firm has a market cap of $25.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $78.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.93. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $66.15 and a 12 month high of $86.21.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.