Amundi Sells 43,894 Shares of Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its holdings in Fortive Corporation by 2.5%, selling 43,894 shares, and now owns approximately $117.77 million or 0.51% of the company.
• Fortive reported quarterly earnings of $0.58 per share, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.60, with revenue also slightly below projections at $1.52 billion.
• The company has initiated a share buyback program authorizing the repurchase of up to 15,630,000 shares, usually deemed a sign that management believes the stock is undervalued.

Amundi lessened its position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,741,589 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 43,894 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.51% of Fortive worth $117,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in Fortive by 181.5% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 21,900,363 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,602,669,000 after purchasing an additional 14,120,456 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Fortive by 50.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,112,403 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $959,567,000 after purchasing an additional 4,382,242 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,626,962 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $411,781,000 after buying an additional 2,764,432 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in Fortive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $136,794,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 4,854.2% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,451,325 shares of the technology company's stock worth $106,208,000 after buying an additional 1,422,030 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV traded down $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $47.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,752,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,353,672. Fortive Corporation has a 52-week low of $46.34 and a 52-week high of $83.32. The company has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.40.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 13.62%.Fortive's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.41%.

Fortive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FTV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Melius lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays set a $54.00 target price on Fortive and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Melius Research raised Fortive to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.79.

Fortive Profile

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.