Fortive Corporation $FTV Stock: King Luther Capital Management Corp Cuts Position

King Luther Capital Management Corp lessened its stake in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) by 26.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 229,592 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 80,515 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Fortive were worth $12,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortive during the third quarter worth about $1,149,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Fortive in the first quarter valued at about $11,854,000. First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new position in Fortive in the first quarter valued at about $2,453,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $99,326,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Peter Underwood sold 48,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.60, for a total transaction of $3,129,353.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 79,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,111,022.80. This represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,093 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.57, for a total value of $530,658.01. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,597 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,695.29. This trade represents a 34.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,497 shares of company stock valued at $4,837,600. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $67.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.23. Fortive Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.09 and a 1 year high of $68.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.20.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.07. Fortive had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 14.83%. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Fortive’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 13.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FTV shares. Mizuho set a $55.00 price target on Fortive in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on Fortive from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price objective on Fortive in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Fortive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Fortive from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

Fortive Profile

Fortive is a global technology company that develops products and software for industrial, infrastructure and healthcare customers. Its businesses focus on helping organizations improve the safety, reliability and efficiency of their operations. Fortive’s offerings include electronic test and measurement tools, industrial safety and gas-detection systems, and software for managing facilities, assets and construction projects. Its portfolio includes brands such as Fluke, Industrial Scientific, Gordian, Accruent and Provation.