Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,113 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FTV. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 186.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its holdings in Fortive by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $74.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.83. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.64.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $2,530,223.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,296.36. The trade was a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529 over the last three months. 1.01% 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.