Sandbar Asset Management LLP Purchases Shares of 14,049 Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Sandbar Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,049 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,050,000. Fortive makes up approximately 2.9% of Sandbar Asset Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Fortive by 12,739.3% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,427 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $843,000 after purchasing an additional 11,338 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in Fortive by 5.9% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Fortive by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,690,395 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $183,404,000 after buying an additional 39,664 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 21,164 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $211,000. 95.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Fortive from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Fortive from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Seaport Res Ptn restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Fortive from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.46.

Fortive Stock Performance

Fortive stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $67.45. 446,711 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,008,888. Fortive Co. has a 52-week low of $62.70 and a 52-week high of $79.90. The stock has a market cap of $23.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.05 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.11 and its 200 day moving average is $72.22.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.01). Fortive had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 13.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 22nd. This is a positive change from Fortive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.73%.

About Fortive

Fortive Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services professional and engineered products, software, and services worldwide. Intelligent Operating Solutions segment provides advanced instrumentation, software and services, which includes electrical test and measurement, facility and asset lifecycle software applications, and worker safety and compliance solutions for manufacturing, process industries, healthcare, utilities and power, communications and electronics, and other industries.