Flossbach Von Storch AG Boosts Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,107,878 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 512,414 shares during the quarter. Fortive accounts for 3.7% of Flossbach Von Storch AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Flossbach Von Storch AG owned 3.16% of Fortive worth $817,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in Fortive by 1,162.8% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 543 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at $441,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Fortive by 15,568.8% in the fourth quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 12,535 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 12,455 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fortive by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 26,617 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 380.1% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 152,252 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,210,000 after buying an additional 120,539 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total transaction of $739,036.98. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,689,743.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total transaction of $739,036.98. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,689,743.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,017 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,445. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 63,937 shares of company stock worth $5,475,122. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.20. 1,865,183 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,609,264. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $62.70 and a 12 month high of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.95. The firm has a market cap of $28.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The technology company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FTV shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Vertical Research cut Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Fortive from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com raised Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.54.

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.