King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 80,515 Shares of Fortive Corporation $FTV

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its stake in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 229,592 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 80,515 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.08% of Fortive worth $12,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 18,490 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 197.5% in the 3rd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 42,747 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 28,379 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its stake in Fortive by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Fortive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $522,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in Fortive by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 427,271 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,504,000 after buying an additional 37,327 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other news, CAO Christopher Mulhall sold 17,962 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $1,177,588.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 44,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,923,844.88. This represents a 28.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 48,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.60, for a total value of $3,129,353.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 79,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,111,022.80. This trade represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 74,497 shares of company stock worth $4,837,600 in the last quarter. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV opened at $67.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.23. Fortive Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.09 and a 1 year high of $68.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.20.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Corporation will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 27th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on FTV. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Fortive from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Fortive in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Mizuho set a $55.00 price objective on Fortive in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 target price on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Fortive from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $64.36.

Fortive Company Profile

Fortive is a global technology company that develops products and software for industrial, infrastructure and healthcare customers. Its businesses focus on helping organizations improve the safety, reliability and efficiency of their operations. Fortive’s offerings include electronic test and measurement tools, industrial safety and gas-detection systems, and software for managing facilities, assets and construction projects. Its portfolio includes brands such as Fluke, Industrial Scientific, Gordian, Accruent and Provation.