Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 209.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,130 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 123,219 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.05% of Fortive worth $13,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Fortive by 186.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Fortive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $2,530,223.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,003,296.36. This trade represents a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total value of $237,308.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,585.65. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Fortive Stock Down 0.4 %

FTV traded down $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $65.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,252,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,361,381. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $60.39 and a one year high of $83.66. The company has a market capitalization of $22.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock's 50 day moving average is $74.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.18.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Fortive's payout ratio is 13.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on FTV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com cut Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.92.

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.