First Nebraska Trust Co Makes New Investment in Fortive Corporation $FTV

First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 41,233 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,260,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortive in the second quarter valued at $1,626,463,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the 2nd quarter worth $739,668,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the 2nd quarter worth $527,526,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the 2nd quarter worth $211,807,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,205,043 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $175,668,000 after purchasing an additional 15,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Peter Underwood sold 48,442 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 79,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,111,022.80. This trade represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,093 shares of Fortive 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,022,695.29. The trade was a 34.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 83,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,371,093. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Fortive

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortive’s latest reported quarter beat expectations: adjusted earnings were $0.77 per share versus $0.70 expected, and revenue of $1.11 billion exceeded forecasts of $1.07 billion, rising 7.8% year over year. Fortive Q3 results presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Fluke, a Fortive business, introduced smaller, lighter acoustic imagers designed to speed inspections and help customers detect problems and avoid unplanned downtime. The launch adds to the product pipeline, though its near-term financial contribution is not clear. Fluke product announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed: Baird set a $75 price target, while Citigroup raised its target to $71 but kept a neutral rating, and Truist maintained a hold rating with a $65 target. Fortive analyst coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Peter Underwood sold 48,442 shares for about $3.13 million, reducing his holdings by roughly 38%. Chief Accounting Officer Christopher Mulhall also reported sizable share sales. Insider selling can weigh on sentiment, although it does not by itself indicate a change in business outlook. Fortive insider transactions

Fortive Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of FTV opened at $66.81 on Wednesday. Fortive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.63 and a fifty-two week high of $67.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $58.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.76. The firm has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Fortive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Fortive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Fortive from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up from $63.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Fortive from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Fortive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $64.36.

About Fortive

Fortive Corporation (NYSE: FTV) is a diversified industrial technology company that develops and provides products, software and services designed to improve the productivity, safety, reliability and efficiency of businesses and public-sector organizations. Its offerings support customers in industries including manufacturing, healthcare, utilities, transportation, commercial facilities and government.

The company’s portfolio includes electronic test and measurement equipment, calibration and asset-management solutions, workplace and facility-management software, engineering and infrastructure software, product identification and traceability systems, and healthcare technology.