Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Lowers Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,911 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 818 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $2,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Tredje AP fonden grew its position in Fortive by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 340,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,500,000 after buying an additional 90,000 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $5,238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,704 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Fortive by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 584,627 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,847,000 after purchasing an additional 14,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Fortive by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,791 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.18.

Insider Activity

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $2,530,223.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. The trade was a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value of $457,997.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,795,793.32. This represents a 10.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $74.66 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $78.48 and its 200 day moving average is $76.93. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week high of $86.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $25.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Fortive Company 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.