Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Purchases 122,927 Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 2,408.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,031 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 122,927 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Fortive were worth $9,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FTV. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 12,878 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Fortive by 178.3% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Fortive by 3.3% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 26,764 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,958,000 after buying an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the first quarter worth approximately $334,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the first quarter worth approximately $876,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Performance

FTV traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.48. 1,624,235 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,111,873. The stock has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.77 and a 200 day moving average of $70.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Fortive Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.66 and a 52 week high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FTV shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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, July 1st. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Melius Research raised shares of Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Melius downgraded shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fortive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.36.

Fortive Company 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.