Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Boosts Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 72.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,820 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 5,387 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,857 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of Fortive by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,499 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $267,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $630,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Fortive by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,527 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,563,000 after purchasing an additional 19,674 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Trading Down 0.3 %

FTV stock opened at $75.97 on Friday. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $62.77 and a 1-year high of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.13.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 14.68%. Research analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on FTV. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Fortive from $93.00 to $83.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Vertical Research lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $84.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total transaction of $787,669.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 36,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,162,267. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total transaction of $787,669.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 36,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,162,267. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total value of $3,523,416.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 61,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,336,849.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 63,937 shares of company stock worth $5,475,122. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.