Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 88,657 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,788,595 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 88,657 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Fortive were worth $209,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Fortive by 186.8% in the 4th 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 stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $66.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $60.39 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The company has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.68.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.56%.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.95, for a total value of $519,115.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,941,425.85. This represents a 21.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on FTV. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. BNP Paribas lowered Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.92.

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.