Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Takes $5.58 Million Position in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has acquired 76,229 shares of Fortive Corporation valued at approximately $5.58 million during Q1.
• CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock, leading to a 28.99% decrease in his ownership.
• Fortive's Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program allowing the repurchase of up to 15.63 million shares in a belief that the stock is undervalued.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 76,229 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,579,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 114.2% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing 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 boosted its holdings 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 period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,132,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,183,648. The company has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.78. Fortive Corporation has a 52-week low of $46.47 and a 52-week high of $83.32.

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). Fortive had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Fortive's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that allows the company to repurchase 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTV has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.86.

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.