Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 12.1% to 12,926,444 shares as of Feb. 27, representing 4.2% of the float and a short-interest ratio of 3.7 days based on average volume.
• Fortive beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.90 vs. $0.83), reported revenue up 4.7%, and set FY2026 guidance of 2.90–3.00 EPS, while analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a $60.85 target.
• Director Kate Mitchell sold 7,131 shares for about $416,000 (an 18.33% reduction in her holding); insiders now own 0.92% of the company while institutional investors own roughly 94.94%.

Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 12,926,444 shares, a decline of 12.1% from the February 12th total of 14,698,007 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,505,390 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 4.2% of the company's shares are short sold. Currently, 4.2% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,505,390 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In related news, Director Kate Mitchell sold 7,131 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.34, for a total value of $416,022.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,853,753.50. This represents a 18.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company's stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,811 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Fortive by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,619 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Fortive by 246.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 502 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Fortive by 98.3% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,259 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Fortive during the second quarter worth about $246,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $51.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Fortive from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on Fortive from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Fortive from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.85.

Fortive Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of FTV stock opened at $53.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.97. Fortive has a 1-year low of $46.34 and a 1-year high of $76.54.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.07. Fortive had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 11.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Fortive has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.000 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Fortive will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Fortive's payout ratio is presently 13.87%.

About Fortive

Fortive Corporation NYSE: FTV is a diversified industrial technology company headquartered in Everett, Washington. The company was created through a spin‑off from Danaher Corporation in 2016 and has since focused on building a portfolio of professional instrumentation and industrial technology businesses. In 2020 Fortive completed a further portfolio separation with the spin‑off of Vontier, concentrating Fortive's activities on higher‑margin instrumentation, software and services.

Fortive's operations center on professional test and measurement, sensing and monitoring, software‑enabled solutions, and lifecycle services that support industrial and commercial customers.

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