Generali Investments Management Co LLC Buys New Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 12,666 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its position in Fortive by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of FTV opened at $74.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $87.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on FTV. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven equities 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.64.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other Fortive 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 transaction 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 trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.