Fortive Corporation $FTV Holdings Increased by Gates Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Gates Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Fortive Corporation by 6.3%, making it the firm's 3rd largest holding.
• Fortive Corporation reported a quarterly EPS of $0.58, missing estimates, and announced a stock buyback program authorizing the repurchase of 15.6 million shares.
• The company cut its dividend to $0.06 per share, reflecting a yield of 0.5%, as it plans for a cautious fiscal outlook with an estimated EPS guidance of 2.500-2.600 for FY 2025.

Gates Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,565,459 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 152,088 shares during the period. Fortive accounts for approximately 3.7% of Gates Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Gates Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.75% of Fortive worth $187,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the first quarter worth $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 114.2% in the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $47.58. 2,736,549 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,355,048. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.10. Fortive Corporation has a one year low of $46.34 and a one year high of $83.32. The business's 50 day moving average is $50.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.46. 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 issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The company's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive declared that its board has authorized a stock 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. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Fortive's payout ratio is presently 14.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FTV. Melius Research raised Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $55.00 price target (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.