Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Buys New Shares in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,627 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Fortive by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the technology company's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in Fortive by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,696 shares of the technology company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in Fortive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 13,628 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on FTV shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas cut shares of Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.92.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded down $1.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $69.85. 767,397 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,566,780. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $60.39 and a 52 week high of $83.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.74 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50 day moving average is $69.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.72.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

About Fortive

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.