Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division reduced its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,579 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 209 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Fortive were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the second quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Fortive by 129.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 165,610 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,272,000 after acquiring an additional 93,363 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fortive by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 897,881 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $66,533,000 after acquiring an additional 82,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Fortive by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,668,448 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $197,726,000 after purchasing an additional 205,893 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV opened at $77.30 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.71. The firm has a market cap of $26.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.14. 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 issued 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 net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. Fortive’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup cut Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total value of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. This trade represents a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. The trade was a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Fortive

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.