Allstate Corp Makes New $795,000 Investment in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,601 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $795,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FTV. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $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 Price Performance

NYSE FTV opened at $73.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.00. Fortive Co. has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $85.93.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,941,425.85. This represents a 21.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. This trade represents a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.18.

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.