Financial Counselors Inc. Purchases 4,674 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168,456 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,674 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $13,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 14,635.7% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $315,720,000 after acquiring an additional 3,972,855 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Fortive by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,359,069 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,271,000 after purchasing an additional 505,882 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 1,053.5% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 382,707 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,359,000 after purchasing an additional 349,530 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the third quarter valued at about $25,930,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 27.4% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,269,103 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $94,041,000 after buying an additional 273,168 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Stock Performance

Fortive stock opened at $79.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.25. Fortive Co. has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $87.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.13.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FTV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upgraded Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, September 6th. UBS Group began coverage on Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.82.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 68,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. This represents a 17.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $5,433,135.73. The trade was a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 197,895 shares of company stock worth $14,261,051. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

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.