Defender Capital LLC. Decreases Stock Holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Defender Capital LLC. decreased its position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,478 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 40,915 shares during the quarter. Fortive accounts for 7.9% of Defender Capital LLC.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Defender Capital LLC. owned about 0.08% of Fortive worth $20,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the first quarter worth $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in Fortive by 114.2% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Fortive by 229.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FTV shares. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $86.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.30. The company had a trading volume of 5,890,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,728,662. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.02. Fortive Corporation has a twelve month low of $50.00 and a twelve month high of $83.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

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

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.