Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 990,048 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,600 shares during the quarter. Fortive comprises approximately 1.5% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Fortive worth $78,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Fortive during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the second quarter worth about $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Price Performance

NYSE:FTV traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $75.87. 47,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,955,635. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $66.15 and a 1-year high of $87.10. The stock has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.39 and its 200-day moving average is $74.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total value of $12,320,351.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total value of $382,900.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,702,336.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 197,895 shares of company stock valued at $14,261,051 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FTV shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Fortive in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price target for the company. Raymond James raised shares of Fortive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho raised Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $80.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.