Bank of Nova Scotia Has $17.95 Million Position in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Fortive Corporation by 34.6%, acquiring an additional 63,089 shares, bringing its total ownership to about 245,219 shares worth approximately $17.9 million.
• Fortive's stock is currently trading at $46.59, down 2.8%, with a 1-year range between $46.47 and $83.32, and the company recently reported earnings of $0.58 per share, missing expectations.
• The company announced a share buyback plan authorizing the repurchase of 15.63 million shares, signaling potential confidence in its stock value.

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 34.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 245,219 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 63,089 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.07% of Fortive worth $17,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dodge & Cox purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at about $583,493,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Fortive by 164.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,730,161 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $654,763,000 after buying an additional 5,429,566 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fortive by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,947,135 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,221,036,000 after buying an additional 3,810,997 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $142,500,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $136,794,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were 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 owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FTV shares. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Melius downgraded shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $86.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.86.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV stock traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $48.42. The stock had a trading volume of 8,108,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,079,945. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.22. Fortive Corporation has a twelve month low of $46.35 and a twelve month high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.02). Fortive had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.