Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 112,403 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $8,430,000.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,502 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,832,000 after buying an additional 7,829 shares during the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $358,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $17,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $22,412,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $136,794,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In related 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 transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.
Fortive Stock Performance
Fortive stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,282,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,585,131. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.68. The company has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10.
Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.
Fortive announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Fortive Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas lowered Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.92.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Fortive
About Fortive
(
Free Report)
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.
Recommended Stories
Before you consider Fortive, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Fortive wasn't on the list.
While Fortive currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Today, we are inviting you to take a free peek at our proprietary, exclusive, and up-to-the-minute list of 20 stocks that Wall Street's top analysts hate.
Many of these appear to have good fundamentals and might seem like okay investments, but something is wrong. Analysts smell something seriously rotten about these companies. These are true "Strong Sell" stocks.
Get This Free Report
