Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Boosts Stock Holdings in Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has increased its holdings in Fortive Corporation by 28.8%, now owning approximately 504,649 shares worth about $36.93 million.
• A number of institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Fortive, including Dodge & Cox with a 181.5% increase, now owning 21.9 million shares.
• Fortive announced a dividend cut, with a quarterly payment of $0.06 per share, alongside a share buyback plan that allows for the repurchase of 15.63 million shares.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 28.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 504,649 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 112,801 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.15% of Fortive worth $36,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in Fortive by 181.5% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 21,900,363 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,602,669,000 after acquiring an additional 14,120,456 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Fortive by 50.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,112,403 shares of the technology company's stock worth $959,567,000 after acquiring an additional 4,382,242 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Fortive by 96.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,626,962 shares of the technology company's stock worth $411,781,000 after acquiring an additional 2,764,432 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in Fortive by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,297,573 shares of the technology company's stock worth $322,318,000 after acquiring an additional 720,250 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Fortive by 2.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,929 shares of the technology company's stock worth $297,691,000 after acquiring an additional 109,307 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of FTV traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.80. 3,301,409 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,351,681. Fortive Corporation has a 1-year low of $46.34 and a 1-year high of $83.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $16.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $50.12 and a 200 day moving average of $64.23.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.02). Fortive had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. The business's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that allows the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is 14.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Fortive and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and set a $55.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of Fortive in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.79.

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.