Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Holdings Boosted by Defender Capital LLC.

Defender Capital LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 316,393 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 58,560 shares during the quarter. Fortive accounts for about 8.7% of Defender Capital LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Defender Capital LLC. owned approximately 0.09% of Fortive worth $23,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Fortive by 73.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 13,565 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 5,741 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Fortive by 9.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 30,719 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 2,741 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Fortive by 22.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,152 shares of the technology company's stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Fortive by 1.1% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 142,068 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,527,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Fortive by 7.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,497 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 3,951 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FTV. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Fortive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group began coverage on Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fortive from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.45.

Fortive Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Fortive stock traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.71. The company had a trading volume of 589,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,100,223. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.46 and a 200 day moving average of $75.20. Fortive Co. has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The business 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Fortive's payout ratio is 12.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. This trade represents a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 80.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

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.