Drake & Associates LLC Purchases 4,978 Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Drake & Associates LLC raised its stake in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 28.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,298 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,978 shares during the quarter. Drake & Associates LLC's holdings in Fortive were worth $1,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 114.2% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 229.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of FTV traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.77. The company had a trading volume of 3,623,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,769,419. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $68.23 and its 200-day moving average is $72.63. Fortive Corporation has a twelve month low of $50.00 and a twelve month high of $83.32. The company has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.09.

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 business 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%. Fortive's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.08.

Fortive Company 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.