Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 48,441 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 585,049 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 48,441 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of Fortive worth $43,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Fortive by 12,739.3% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,427 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 11,338 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 5.9% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the first quarter valued at $340,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 1.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,690,395 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $183,404,000 after acquiring an additional 39,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 7.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,750 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.95% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Up 0.7 %

Fortive stock opened at $68.10 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.14. The company has a market cap of $23.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23 and a beta of 1.15. Fortive Co. has a 52-week low of $62.70 and a 52-week high of $79.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 13.77% and a return on equity of 11.96%. Analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a boost from Fortive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 13.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Fortive from $82.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Fortive in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Argus lifted their price objective on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Fortive from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Fortive from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.46.

About Fortive

Fortive Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services professional and engineered products, software, and services worldwide. Intelligent Operating Solutions segment provides advanced instrumentation, software and services, which includes electrical test and measurement, facility and asset lifecycle software applications, and worker safety and compliance solutions for manufacturing, process industries, healthcare, utilities and power, communications and electronics, and other industries.