Advisor OS LLC Trims Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Advisor OS LLC lessened its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 59.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,899 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 8,806 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flossbach Von Storch SE increased its stake in Fortive by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 11,903,240 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $892,743,000 after buying an additional 137,479 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fortive by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,191,915 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $644,346,000 after buying an additional 46,704 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Fortive by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,041,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $634,701,000 after buying an additional 977,428 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Fortive by 14,635.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $315,720,000 after purchasing an additional 3,972,855 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Fortive by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,444,205 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $271,851,000 after purchasing an additional 103,530 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $79.93 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Fortive Co. has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $87.10. The company has a market cap of $27.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on FTV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.