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

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FTV. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Fortive in the first quarter worth $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the first quarter worth $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Fortive by 114.2% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in Fortive by 41.0% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 523 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Melius Research raised shares of Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Melius lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Cowen lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.79.

Fortive Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:FTV traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,968,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,693,241. Fortive Corporation has a 1 year low of $46.34 and a 1 year high of $83.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.02 and a 200-day moving average of $62.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 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 (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.02). Fortive had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 13.62%.The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm'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 forecast that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is 10.81%.

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.