Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) Shares Bought by Drake & Associates LLC

Drake & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 28.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,298 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,978 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC's holdings in Fortive were worth $1,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Fortive by 114.2% in the 1st 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 period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Fortive by 229.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Price Performance

Fortive stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.88. The company had a trading volume of 3,075,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,770,648. The company has a market capitalization of $17.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.09. Fortive Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.00 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $68.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for 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%. Fortive's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was 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 directly owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FTV shares. Truist Financial cut their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup cut their price target on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays cut their price target on Fortive from $86.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.67.

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.