44 Wealth Management LLC Makes New $768,000 Investment in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

44 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,499 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $768,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 114.2% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Fortive by 229.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.08.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,484,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,738,491. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.09. Fortive Corporation has a 1-year low of $50.00 and a 1-year high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.