Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Purchases 207,031 Shares of Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Fortive Corporation by 7.7% during the first quarter, owning approximately 2.91 million shares valued at $213.16 million as of the last SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors also significantly boosted their holdings in Fortive, with Dodge & Cox increasing its stake by 181.5%, now owning nearly 21.9 million shares valued at over $1.6 billion.
• Fortive's stock is currently under pressure, as analysts have lowered target prices, with Barclays setting a new target of $54.00 and Wells Fargo reducing it to $55.00, reflecting a cautious outlook for the company.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,912,801 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 207,031 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.86% of Fortive worth $213,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox raised its position in Fortive by 181.5% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 21,900,363 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,602,669,000 after buying an additional 14,120,456 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,382,242 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Fortive by 96.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,626,962 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $411,781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764,432 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $136,794,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Fortive by 4,854.2% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,451,325 shares of the technology company's stock worth $106,208,000 after buying an additional 1,422,030 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Performance

Fortive stock traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.88. The company had a trading volume of 4,988,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,725,116. The firm has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Fortive Corporation has a 52 week low of $46.34 and a 52 week high of $83.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.19 and a 200-day moving average of $62.87.

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

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

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Melius downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Melius Research raised Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $55.00 price target (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Fortive from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.79.

Fortive Company 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.