Korea Investment CORP Sells 35,096 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Korea Investment CORP lessened its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 298,106 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 35,096 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.09% of Fortive worth $22,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Fortive by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fortive by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in Fortive by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,696 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in Fortive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 13,628 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on FTV. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Truist Financial raised their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $2,530,223.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of FTV opened at $72.57 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $85.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.35 and a 200-day moving average of $76.97.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 13.56%.

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.