Swiss National Bank Has $82.47 Million Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,044,900 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of Fortive worth $82,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FTV. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortive during the first quarter worth approximately $253,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Fortive in the first quarter valued at approximately $184,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Fortive in the first quarter valued at approximately $383,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 16.1% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,844 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after buying an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 319.4% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 15,368 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,322,000 after buying an additional 11,704 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV stock opened at $74.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week high of $87.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.58 and its 200 day moving average is $74.15. The firm has a market cap of $25.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is 12.75%.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. The trade was a 9.37 % 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. Also, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,161 shares in the company, valued at $5,030,281.80. This represents a 17.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 197,895 shares of company stock valued at $14,261,051 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FTV. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $92.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.82.

Fortive Company 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.