HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 72.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,098 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 107,360 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Fortive were worth $3,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Fortive by 2.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,212 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,980,000 after buying an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 38,844 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,878,000 after acquiring an additional 3,039 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 111.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 541 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Fortive by 7.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 343,798 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,475,000 after purchasing an additional 24,484 shares during the period. Finally, Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in Fortive by 0.4% in the second quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 78,757 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,836,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on FTV shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Fortive in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $89.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Fortive from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th. UBS Group started coverage on Fortive in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,702,336.68. The trade was a 9.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction, 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Fortive Trading Up 0.0 %

FTV traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.85. 1,976,351 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,001,103. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock's 50-day moving average is $76.39 and its 200 day moving average is $74.36. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $66.15 and a 12 month high of $87.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a PE ratio of 30.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

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.