Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Stake Decreased by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 38.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,914 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 9,180 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Fortive were worth $1,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Fortive during the first quarter worth $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $12,670,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,029,554. The trade was 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

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FTV shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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 upped their price target on shares of Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. 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 note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.62.

Fortive Trading Down 2.3%

Fortive stock traded down $1.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,126,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,768. The stock's fifty day moving average is $69.16 and its 200 day moving average is $74.41. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16.

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

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

Fortive Dividend Announcement

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

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.