First Western Trust Bank Reduces Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

First Western Trust Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,410 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,150 shares during the quarter. First Western Trust Bank's holdings in Fortive were worth $3,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Fortive by 14,635.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Fortive by 47.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,244,117 shares of the technology company's stock worth $537,119,000 after buying an additional 1,999,792 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Fortive by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,463,772 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $554,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045,245 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Fortive by 78.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 853,187 shares of the technology company's stock worth $63,221,000 after buying an additional 373,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in Fortive by 1,053.5% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of FTV stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $74.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,269,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,977,387. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10. The company has a market capitalization of $25.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.81, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $75.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.16.

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

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.75%.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $1,049,657.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 68,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. This trade represents a 17.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at $3,702,336.68. This trade represents a 9.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 197,895 shares of company stock worth $14,261,051. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Fortive in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday. Raymond James raised shares of Fortive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.82.

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.