Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 10.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,274 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,097 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Fortive were worth $1,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FTV. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the third quarter valued at about $223,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fortive by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 43,593 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 14,635.7% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $315,720,000 after buying an additional 3,972,855 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the third quarter worth $303,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Fortive by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,410 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Performance

Fortive stock opened at $79.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.13. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $66.15 and a 12 month high of $87.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.82.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 73,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. The trade was a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,030,281.80. This represents a 17.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 197,895 shares of company stock worth $14,261,051. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.