First Hawaiian Bank Purchases 13,862 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

First Hawaiian Bank lifted its position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 90.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,126 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,862 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank's holdings in Fortive were worth $2,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 229.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on FTV shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BNP Paribas cut Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.92.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.17. The company had a trading volume of 4,282,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,585,253. The firm has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.02 and a 200-day moving average of $74.68. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $60.39 and a 12 month high of $83.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that allows the company to buyback 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.04%.

Fortive Company 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.