Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Purchases 1,376 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV – Get Rating) by 27.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,371 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Fortive were worth $409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC increased its position in shares of Fortive by 317.0% in the fourth quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC now owns 417 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 94.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FTV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Fortive from $77.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Fortive in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on Fortive from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Fortive from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Vertical Research raised Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE:FTV opened at $66.42 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.43 and its 200-day moving average is $66.17. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $52.47 and a 1-year high of $69.78. The stock has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The technology company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.02. Fortive had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 12.92%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 26th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 25th. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 13.08%.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 1,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total value of $88,697.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,946 shares in the company, valued at $2,519,234.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 1,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total value of $88,697.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 37,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,519,234.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.75, for a total value of $220,119.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,216,847.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fortive Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Fortive Corp. engages in the design, development, manufacturing, and marketing of professional and engineered products, software, and services for a variety of end markets. It operates through the following segments: Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions.