Graham Capital Management L.P. Has $1.13 Million Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Graham Capital Management L.P. lessened its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 54.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,004 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 17,996 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $1,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FTV. Dodge & Cox acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $583,493,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $412,445,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 164.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,730,161 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $654,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,429,566 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,947,135 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,221,036,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $142,500,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total value of $237,308.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 42,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,349,585.65. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,509,043.38. This trade represents a 27.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of FTV opened at $73.81 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $60.39 and a 52 week high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on FTV shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.85.

Fortive Company 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.