Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,540,000 shares, a growth of 17.2% from the September 15th total of 3,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FTV shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Fortive in a report on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Fortive in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Fortive from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $1,049,657.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 68,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $1,049,657.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 68,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,030,281.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 47.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,244,117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $537,119,000 after buying an additional 1,999,792 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Fortive by 19.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,463,772 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $554,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,245 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Fortive by 78.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 853,187 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,221,000 after acquiring an additional 373,957 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 70.1% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 896,550 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $77,058,000 after purchasing an additional 369,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 1,053.5% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 382,707 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,359,000 after purchasing an additional 349,530 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of FTV traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.23. 1,303,819 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,847,590. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Fortive has a 52 week low of $63.05 and a 52 week high of $87.10. The company has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.15.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. Fortive had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Fortive will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 12.65%.

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.