Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 276,033 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,418,490 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 276,033 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $190,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 2.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,212 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,980,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 38,844 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,878,000 after buying an additional 3,039 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortive by 111.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 541 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 343,798 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,475,000 after acquiring an additional 24,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Fortive by 2.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 43,666 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Fortive in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.73.

Fortive Trading Up 0.0 %

FTV opened at $76.86 on Friday. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,058,503.21. The trade was a 80.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total value of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. This trade represents a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fortive 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.