Clean Energy Transition LLP Sells 126,264 Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Key Points

• Clean Energy Transition LLP reduced its holdings in Fortive Corporation by 16.1%, selling 126,264 shares, which now represent about 6.0% of its total portfolio.
• Several other institutional investors increased their stakes in Fortive, indicating a general upward trend in investment interest in the company during the first quarter.
• Fortive posted EPS of $0.58 for the latest quarter, missing estimates, and announced a stock repurchase program allowing for the buyback of up to 15.63 million shares, which reflects confidence in the company's valuation.

Clean Energy Transition LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 658,120 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 126,264 shares during the quarter. Fortive comprises about 6.0% of Clean Energy Transition LLP's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Clean Energy Transition LLP owned about 0.19% of Fortive worth $48,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Fortive by 11.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 10,793 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $790,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Fortive by 28.7% in the first quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 22,298 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 4,978 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Fortive by 13.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,343 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,757,000 after acquiring an additional 5,963 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new stake in Fortive in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,542,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in Fortive by 60.0% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 239,735 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $17,544,000 after acquiring an additional 89,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Melius lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.86.

Fortive Price Performance

Fortive stock opened at $47.11 on Friday. Fortive Corporation has a one year low of $46.35 and a one year high of $83.32. 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 fifty day moving average of $58.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.40. The company has a market cap of $15.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Fortive's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on 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 $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

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.

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