USS Investment Management Ltd Buys 73,602 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

USS Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 533.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 87,402 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,602 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Fortive were worth $6,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Fortive by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Fortive by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,696 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 13,628 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 432,712 shares of company stock valued at $33,237,008 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $70.12 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.85. The stock has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 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.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Fortive’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BNP Paribas cut Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.92.

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.