Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Cuts Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lowered its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,806 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,294 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $1,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Visionary Horizons LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $273,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,619 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,080,000. Andina Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $247,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Down 1.0 %

Fortive stock opened at $74.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Fortive Co. has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $87.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.19.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, September 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.82.

Insider Activity

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total transaction of $508,141.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,433,135.73. The trade was a 8.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,058,503.21. The trade was a 80.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 197,895 shares of company stock worth $14,261,051 over the last quarter. 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.