Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,964,789 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,539 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.57% of Fortive worth $155,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Fortive by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 395,488 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,216,000 after purchasing an additional 51,690 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 4.8% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,932 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 599.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,546 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,520,000 after acquiring an additional 45,032 shares during the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. grew its stake in Fortive by 8.8% during the second quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 98,487 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Fortive by 111.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 541 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Fortive in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group started 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. upgraded shares of Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $92.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.82.

Fortive Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:FTV opened at $78.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $87.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.14. The company has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.13.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is 12.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total value of $382,900.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,702,336.68. The trade was a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 42,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,058,503.21. The trade was a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 197,895 shares of company stock valued at $14,261,051 over the last 90 days. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.