Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Increases Stock Position in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Fortive Corporation by 86.9%, owning nearly 52,000 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Fortive's stock has faced some analyst downgrades, with Royal Bank of Canada and Truist Financial both reducing their price targets and ratings for the company.
• Insider selling was noted, with significant transactions from SVP Peter C. Underwood and CEO James A. Lico, indicating a combined ownership decrease of nearly 29% post-sales.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 86.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,916 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,143 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Fortive were worth $3,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fortive by 1.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,045,073 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $149,658,000 after buying an additional 30,755 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in Fortive during the first quarter valued at $4,085,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Fortive by 21.1% during the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 5,801 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Fortive during the first quarter valued at $1,779,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Fortive by 19.1% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,092 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:FTV traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.11. 3,774,297 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,338,641. Fortive Corporation has a 12-month low of $46.35 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.48.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Fortive had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of Fortive 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 directly owned 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,029,554. The trade was a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cowen lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Melius Research upgraded Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.86.

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.