Woodline Partners LP Sells 308,235 Shares of Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP reduced its stake in Fortive Corporation by 27.2% in the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.24% of the company, valued at $60.3 million.
• Several research analysts have recently downgraded their price targets for Fortive, with Morgan Stanley reducing their target from $90.00 to $50.00 and Mizuho lowering it from $85.00 to $65.00.
• Fortive's quarterly dividend has been set at $0.06 per share, yielding 0.5%, while the company has also initiated a stock buyback program authorized to repurchase 15.63 million shares.

Woodline Partners LP trimmed its position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 27.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 824,487 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 308,235 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.24% of Fortive worth $60,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redmond Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fortive by 1.0% during the first quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 14,515 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its holdings in Fortive by 41.0% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 523 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV boosted its holdings in Fortive by 0.6% during the first quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 27,557 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,017,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Fortive by 2.3% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,119 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RDA Financial Network boosted its holdings in Fortive by 3.5% during the first quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 4,965 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded down $0.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.88. The stock had a trading volume of 4,988,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,725,116. Fortive Corporation has a 52 week low of $46.34 and a 52 week high of $83.32. The business's 50-day moving average price is $49.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The business's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given 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 payout ratio is 14.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. TD Cowen downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.79.

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.