Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 8.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,373 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 981 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Fortive were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 19.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,463,772 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $554,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,245 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 47.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,244,117 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $537,119,000 after buying an additional 1,999,792 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Fortive by 8.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,668,448 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $197,726,000 after acquiring an additional 205,893 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in Fortive by 6.8% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,641,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $195,721,000 after acquiring an additional 168,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Fortive by 3.8% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,565,443 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $190,099,000 after acquiring an additional 94,170 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $74.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. Fortive Co. has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $87.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $75.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.16.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. This represents a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $1,049,657.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 68,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. This trade represents a 17.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 197,895 shares of company stock valued at $14,261,051. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Fortive in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James upgraded Fortive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.82.

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.