Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Acquires New Position in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,084 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $738,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV raised its stake in Fortive by 0.6% during the first quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 27,557 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,017,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Fortive by 127,333.3% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 7,646 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 7,640 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Fortive by 1.0% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,948 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,923,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive during the first quarter valued at $318,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FTV shares. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.62.

Fortive Stock Up 1.7%

Fortive stock traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $71.29. 1,748,418 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,664,399. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.99. Fortive Corporation has a 12 month low of $60.39 and a 12 month high of $83.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.85. The company has a market cap of $24.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.11.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released 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. Fortive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Fortive declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm's 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 now owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. This 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.

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.