Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank trimmed its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,907 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,649 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Fortive were worth $4,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Fortive during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,145,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in Fortive by 24.9% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 90,791 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,165,000 after purchasing an additional 18,119 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in Fortive by 3.2% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 15,666 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL raised its holdings in Fortive by 1.8% during the third quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 12,218 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 32,563 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,570,000 after buying an additional 3,016 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total value of $508,141.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 73,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. This represents a 8.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of Fortive 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 $3,058,503.21. This trade represents a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 197,895 shares of company stock worth $14,261,051. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Raymond James raised Fortive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Fortive in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.82.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE FTV opened at $78.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.18. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $87.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

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.