Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,950,000 shares, a growth of 37.9% from the January 31st total of 5,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Fortive Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Fortive stock traded up $1.31 on Wednesday, reaching $78.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,257,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,085,639. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Fortive has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week high of $87.10. The company has a market capitalization of $26.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.70.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortive will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s payout ratio is 13.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays cut their price target on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.64.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $15,763,884.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $457,997.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,795,793.32. The trade was a 10.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at about $583,493,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $412,445,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Fortive by 164.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,730,161 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $654,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,429,566 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Fortive by 14,635.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $315,720,000 after purchasing an additional 3,972,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fortive by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,947,135 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,221,036,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810,997 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

About Fortive

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.