Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 68,540 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,000. Fortive comprises about 2.1% of Benson Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive during the second quarter worth about $410,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Fortive by 5.2% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 248,715 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $18,276,000 after purchasing an additional 12,361 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 129.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 165,610 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,272,000 after purchasing an additional 93,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 10.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 897,881 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $66,533,000 after purchasing an additional 82,231 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. This trade represents a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at $3,702,336.68. This trade represents a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fortive Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $76.14 on Tuesday. Fortive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.68. The company has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on FTV. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.64.

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.