Assetmark Inc. Reduces Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Assetmark Inc. lowered its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 49.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,145 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 15,859 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Fortive by 186.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $74.22 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.93 and a 200 day moving average of $76.86. The firm has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is 13.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.64.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of Fortive 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 represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

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.