Flossbach Von Storch SE Decreases Stake in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Flossbach Von Storch SE lowered its stake in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,854,422 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 48,818 shares during the quarter. Fortive accounts for 3.8% of Flossbach Von Storch SE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned 3.49% of Fortive worth $867,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 114.2% during 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 last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Fortive by 229.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:FTV opened at $52.77 on Wednesday. Fortive Corporation has a one year low of $50.00 and a one year high of $83.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $68.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.09.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total value of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.00.

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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