Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,324 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $99,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $383,000. Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 13,208 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 14,373 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Finally, Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. now owns 277,771 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,833,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Up 0.4 %

Fortive stock opened at $79.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.73 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $66.15 and a 12 month high of $87.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s payout ratio is 13.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on FTV. UBS Group began coverage on Fortive in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Citigroup downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.64.

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.