KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $11.90 Million Investment in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 158,663 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,900,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FTV. Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its stake in Fortive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 11,903,240 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $892,743,000 after buying an additional 137,479 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,191,915 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $644,346,000 after acquiring an additional 46,704 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,041,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $634,701,000 after acquiring an additional 977,428 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Fortive by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,904,282 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $594,108,000 after acquiring an additional 166,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Fortive by 3.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,444,205 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $271,851,000 after purchasing an additional 103,530 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,349,585.65. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $75.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week high of $86.21. The firm has a market cap of $25.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $78.64 and its 200-day moving average is $76.92.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.56%.

About Fortive

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.