Entropy Technologies LP Acquires New Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 65,506 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,170,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FTV. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 15.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 395,488 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,216,000 after buying an additional 51,690 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Fortive by 4.8% during the 3rd 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 lifted its holdings in Fortive by 599.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,546 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,520,000 after buying an additional 45,032 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Fortive by 6.7% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 275,489 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $23,719,000 after acquiring an additional 17,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addenda Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Fortive by 8.8% in the second quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 98,487 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,298,000 after buying an additional 7,936 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Fortive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Fortive in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $89.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Fortive from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment 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, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.20.

Fortive Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE FTV traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.05. The stock had a trading volume of 2,421,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,977. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $65.14 and a 52 week high of $87.10. The company has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.13. The business's 50 day moving average is $75.25 and its 200-day moving average is $74.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Fortive's payout ratio is 12.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,391 shares in the company, valued at $5,433,135.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total value of $508,141.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,433,135.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 value 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 192,895 shares of company stock worth $13,878,151. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.