Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Holdings Lifted by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,152 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 9.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 30,719 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares in the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Security National Bank of SO Dak boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 14,116 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. First County Bank CT boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 3,284 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,641,314 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $195,721,000 after acquiring an additional 168,368 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortive news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $1,049,657.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Fortive news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $1,049,657.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total transaction of $508,141.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of FTV opened at $76.44 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.12. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $63.05 and a 12-month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Fortive’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 12.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Raymond James raised Fortive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Fortive from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.75.

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.