Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Roper Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ROP)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in Roper Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ROP) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,312,145 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,395 shares during the period. Roper Technologies accounts for approximately 0.7% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 3.11% of Roper Technologies worth $1,459,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Roper Technologies by 68,873.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,724,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $745,065,000 after buying an additional 1,721,828 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Roper Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $497,958,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Roper Technologies by 105.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,091,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $899,912,000 after buying an additional 1,072,030 shares during the last quarter. CI Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Roper Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $245,541,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Roper Technologies by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,440,733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,647,156,000 after buying an additional 493,848 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Roper Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:ROP traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $499.54. 248,805 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 496,741. Roper Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $356.21 and a twelve month high of $504.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $486.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $457.98.

Roper Technologies (NYSE:ROP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by $0.13. Roper Technologies had a return on equity of 10.61% and a net margin of 50.21%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Roper Technologies, Inc. will post 16.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Roper Technologies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 24th. Investors of record on Monday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 7th. This represents a $2.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Roper Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ROP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Roper Technologies from $550.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Roper Technologies from $525.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Roper Technologies from $535.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Roper Technologies from $550.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, TheStreet raised Roper Technologies from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Roper Technologies news, Director Christopher Wright sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.19, for a total transaction of $137,157.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 37,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,294,126.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Jason Conley sold 2,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.05, for a total value of $1,434,356.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,358 shares in the company, valued at $19,257,633.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher Wright sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.19, for a total value of $137,157.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,294,126.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,200 shares of company stock worth $3,084,399. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Roper Technologies

Roper Technologies, Inc designs and develops software, and technology enabled products and solutions. The company offers management, campus solutions, diagnostic and laboratory information management, enterprise management, information solutions, transportation management, financial and compliance management, and cloud-based financial analytics and performance management software; cloud-based software to the property and casualty insurance industry; and software, services, and technologies for foodservice operations.