Kentucky Trust Co Takes Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,635 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FTV. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Fortive during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Fortive by 186.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Fortive during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $80.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $27.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $77.69 and its 200 day moving average is $75.47. Fortive Co. has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $87.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FTV shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.64.

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.