Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Champlain Investment Partners LLC

Champlain Investment Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,776,726 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 106,690 shares during the period. Fortive makes up about 2.3% of Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $377,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $184,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fortive by 16.1% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,844 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Fortive by 7.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,648 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Fortive in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at $1,641,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 73,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. The trade was a 8.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total value of $12,320,351.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,058,503.21. This represents a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 197,895 shares of company stock valued at $14,261,051. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE FTV opened at $78.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.21 billion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.85 and a 200-day moving average of $74.18. Fortive Co. has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James upgraded Fortive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.82.

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.