New Century Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,712 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Fortive during the first quarter worth $26,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Fortive by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 508 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $72.28 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.13. The stock has a market cap of $25.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $63.05 and a 12 month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. Fortive had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $93.00 to $83.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Fortive from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Fortive from $92.00 to $84.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.69.

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.