Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) CEO Sells $15,763,884.46 in Stock

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $79.73 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.48. Fortive Co. has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $87.10. The company has a market cap of $27.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. 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 (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FTV. UBS Group began coverage on Fortive in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays reduced their target price on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

Institutional Trading of Fortive

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FTV. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 186.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

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.