Boston Partners Sells 815,125 Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Key Points

• Boston Partners has cut its stake in Fortive Corporation by 10.3%, now holding approximately 7.09 million shares valued at $517 million.
• Fortive recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.58 per share, missing estimates, with revenue down 0.4% year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a stock repurchase plan to reacquire up to 15.63 million shares, signaling potential undervaluation of its stock.

Boston Partners lowered its position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 10.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,089,157 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 815,125 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 2.09% of Fortive worth $517,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FTV. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE:FTV traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.11. The stock had a trading volume of 5,626,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,537,815. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.58. Fortive Corporation has a 12-month low of $46.34 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The stock has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.08.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share (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 firm 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 business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on FTV. Melius lowered 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, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $55.00 price target (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.57.

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.