Liberty Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Liberty Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV – Free Report) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,622 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $3,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Lipe & Dalton grew its position in Fortive by 1.9% during the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 7,096 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. RDA Financial Network grew its position in shares of Fortive by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 4,191 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 11,170 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fortive by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,507 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Fortive by 3.4% during the second quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 4,433 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $92.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Fortive from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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 research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Fortive from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.36.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on FTV

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. This trade represents 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 related news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction 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 $5,030,281.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 73,391 shares in the company, valued at $5,433,135.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE FTV opened at $75.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $26.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $74.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.89. Fortive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.05 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

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

About Fortive

(Free Report)

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.

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