TD Asset Management Inc Raises Position in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Fortive Corporation by 3.4%, now owning 994,455 shares valued at approximately $72.77 million.
• Several large investors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management, have significantly increased their positions in Fortive during the fourth quarter.
• Fortive's stock has received mixed analyst ratings, with standards set at a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.36.

TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 994,455 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,712 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.29% of Fortive worth $72,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Fortive by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 2,811 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Fortive by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 557,693 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,329,000 after buying an additional 50,581 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Fortive by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,695,319 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $127,149,000 after buying an additional 374,837 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Fortive by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 36,409 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,731,000 after buying an additional 6,930 shares during the period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fortive by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 20,866 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,565,000 after buying an additional 4,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE FTV traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $48.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,502,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,161,908. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $16.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.09. Fortive Corporation has a 52 week low of $48.27 and a 52 week high of $83.32. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $62.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.97.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total value of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FTV shares. Melius lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Cowen lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.86.

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.