Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,950,000 shares, an increase of 37.9% from the January 31st total of 5,040,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $457,997.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,795,793.32. The trade was a 10.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Fortive by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 1.7% in the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 8,854 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

Fortive Price Performance

NYSE:FTV traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.52. 1,257,736 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,085,639. Fortive has a 12 month low of $66.15 and a 12 month high of $87.10. The stock has a market cap of $26.72 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. 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 fifty day moving average of $78.84 and a 200 day moving average of $76.70.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fortive will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.