Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 406,085 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 10,795 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Fortive worth $32,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Fortive by 0.3% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 77,654 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,754,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Fortive by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,936 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Fortive by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,266,386 shares of the technology company's stock worth $167,939,000 after purchasing an additional 10,691 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 0.3% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 96,360 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,140,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the second quarter valued at $349,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total value of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at $3,702,336.68. This represents a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. The trade was a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James raised shares of Fortive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Fortive in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $89.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho raised Fortive from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, September 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.82.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.00. 654,960 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,042,049. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. 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 $76.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.43.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Fortive's payout ratio is 12.75%.

Fortive Company 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.