Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Increases Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 60.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,574 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 11,526 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $2,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the second quarter valued at $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Performance

FTV opened at $75.71 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $72.36 and its 200 day moving average is $76.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.11. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $63.05 and a 12-month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $1,049,657.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total value of $508,141.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 73,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $1,049,657.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 68,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FTV. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James upgraded Fortive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho raised Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Fortive in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.23.

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.