Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 76,740 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 47.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 238,861 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 76,740 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of Fortive worth $17,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 14.6% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 13,237 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $976,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Fortive by 86.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 181,244 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,306,000 after purchasing an additional 84,223 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Fortive by 4.7% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 144,409 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,398,000 after purchasing an additional 6,515 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Fortive by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,191,915 shares of the technology company's stock worth $644,346,000 after buying an additional 46,704 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $15,763,884.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,509,043.38. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.95, for a total transaction of $519,115.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,941,425.85. The trade was a 21.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FTV shares. StockNews.com cut Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.33.

Fortive Price Performance

NYSE:FTV traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.81. 4,267,497 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,358,081. The company has a market capitalization of $22.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.19 and a 200 day moving average of $76.29. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.66.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Fortive's dividend 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.