Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 197,636 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 113.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 372,034 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 197,636 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.11% of Fortive worth $29,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FTV. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,628 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,799,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FTV shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Fortive in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James raised Fortive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total value of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at $3,702,336.68. The trade was a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total value of $12,320,351.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,058,503.21. This trade represents a 80.11 % 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 insiders.

Fortive Stock Up 0.6 %

FTV stock opened at $79.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 2.19 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.25.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

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.