Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Fortive Corporation by 96.0% in the second quarter, holding $2.06 million worth of shares after selling 957,922 shares.
• Fortive Corporation reported earnings per share of $0.58 for the last quarter, missing consensus estimates of $0.60, with a revenue drop of 0.4% compared to the previous year.
• The company also announced a share buyback program to repurchase 15.63 million shares, indicating that the board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 96.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,491 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 957,922 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Fortive were worth $2,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Fortive by 114.2% during the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fortive by 246.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 502 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $48.29. 1,006,226 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,415,616. The company has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.10. Fortive Corporation has a 52-week low of $46.34 and a 52-week high of $83.32. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $48.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to buyback 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Fortive's payout ratio is 10.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTV has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Melius downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.79.

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.