Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Acquired by Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 106.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,078 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in Fortive were worth $754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 229.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. 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 analyst reports. 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.62.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV traded down $1.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.32. The stock had a trading volume of 4,126,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,646,569. 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 1 year low of $60.39 and a 1 year high of $83.32. The company has a market capitalization of $23.56 billion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.41.

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

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

Fortive announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.