Capital Investment Services of America Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Capital Investment Services of America Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 280,317 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 16,160 shares during the period. Fortive comprises approximately 2.1% of Capital Investment Services of America Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. owned about 0.08% of Fortive worth $22,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Fortive by 70.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 896,550 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $77,058,000 after purchasing an additional 369,351 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 104.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 369,076 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,748,000 after buying an additional 188,415 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 395,488 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,216,000 after acquiring an additional 51,690 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fortive by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,932 shares of the technology company's stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Fortive by 599.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,546 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,520,000 after purchasing an additional 45,032 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on FTV shares. Wolfe Research downgraded Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $89.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 73,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,433,135.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $1,049,657.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 68,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,030,281.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fortive Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded down $0.18 during trading on Monday, hitting $71.16. The company had a trading volume of 3,313,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,914,721. The stock has a market cap of $24.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.39. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $64.69 and a one year high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. Fortive's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Fortive's payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

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.