Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. Increases Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. has increased its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 12.7% in the third quarter, as revealed in its latest Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This brings the fund’s total ownership to 303,468 shares of the technology company.

In contrast, Capital Investment Services of America Inc. reported a 5.5% reduction in its stake in Fortive during the same period. The institutional investor now holds 280,317 shares after selling 16,160 shares. Fortive represents roughly 2.1% of Capital Investment Services of America’s total holdings, making it their 23rd largest position. As per their recent filing, their ownership in Fortive is worth about $22,125,000.

• Buying the Dip in Fortive Stock is a Strong Move

In addition to these movements, other financial institutions have also been adjusting their stakes in Fortive. Ridgewood Investments LLC, for example, took a new position worth about $30,000 during the second quarter. Similarly, International Assets Investment Management LLC and Goodman Advisory Group LLC also made new investments during this time, each valued around $30,000 to $31,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. added to their holdings during the first quarter, purchasing a stake worth approximately $32,000. Notably, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased their stake by 71.0% in the third quarter, bringing their total shares to 424, valued at around $33,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares. Currently, 94.94% of Fortive’s shares are held by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerage firms have recently updated their ratings on Fortive. For instance, Truist Financial lowered its price target from $90.00 to $89.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating. On the other hand, StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a "hold" rating to "buy" on September 13th. Wolfe Research changed its stance from "outperform" to "peer perform" in a report from September 6th. Conversely, TD Cowen upgraded their rating from "hold" to "buy," while also raising their price target from $75.00 to $90.00 on July 8th. Raymond James also moved to upgrade Fortive from a "market perform" to an "outperform" rating, setting a price target of $85.00. Overall, four analysts have assigned a "hold" rating, and nine have issued a "buy" rating for the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive enjoys a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $88.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Vice President Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of Fortive on September 13th, with the stock priced at an average of $73.80, totaling approximately $1,049,657.40. After this transaction, he holds 68,161 shares valued at about $5,030,281.80. His transaction resulted in no change to his overall ownership percentage. A similar situation occurred with CFO Charles E. McLaughlin, who sold 6,864 shares on the same day, with an average sale price of $74.03 and a total value of $508,141.92, leaving him with 73,391 shares worth approximately $5,433,135.73. Both transactions were documented in legal filings accessible to the public. Notably, company insiders possess 1.01% of Fortive’s shares.

Fortive Trading Trends

As of Monday, Fortive’s stock price dipped by 0.3%, trading at $71.10 with a volume of 1,035,216 shares against an average of 1,903,608 shares. The company has a market capitalization of $24.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, and a P/E/G ratio of 1.96. Over the past year, its stock has traded between a low of $64.69 and a high of $87.10. Financial indicators show a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33 and current and quick ratios of 1.25 and 0.95, respectively. Fortive’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages are $75.27 and $74.39, respectively.

Fortive last reported its quarterly earnings on October 30th, revealing earnings per share (EPS) of $0.97, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.93, despite revenues of $1.53 billion being slightly below the estimate of $1.55 billion. The company experienced a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%, with revenue up 2.7% year-over-year compared to the same quarter last year, when it achieved an EPS of $0.85. Analysts project Fortive will post an EPS of 3.85 for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Declares Dividend

Furthermore, Fortive recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was disbursed on September 27th. Shareholders who were on record as of September 17th received a dividend of $0.08 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was September 13th, and Fortive’s payout ratio sits at 12.75%.

Overview of Fortive

Fortive Corporation focuses on the design, development, manufacturing, and servicing of professional and engineered products, software, and services across the United States, China, and internationally. The firm operates through three segments: Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions. The Intelligent Operating Solutions segment offers advanced instrumentation, software, and services, including electrical test and measurement, facility and asset lifecycle software applications, and connected worker safety and compliance solutions applicable across various industries such as healthcare, utilities, and manufacturing.

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