Bank of Montreal Can Lowers Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 318,030 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 158,895 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.09% of Fortive worth $23,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Fortive by 186.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of FTV opened at $64.81 on Friday. 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 $60.39 and a 52-week high of $83.66. The company has a market cap of $22.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.19 and a 200 day moving average of $76.29.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Fortive’s payout ratio is 13.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,296.36. This trade represents a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $457,997.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,795,793.32. This represents a 10.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FTV shares. 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 note on Monday, February 10th. BNP Paribas cut Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.33.

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.