Millennium Management LLC Sells 203,566 Shares of Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC reduced its stake in Fortive Corporation by 12.5%, holding 1,428,815 shares valued at $104.56 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in Fortive, with Dodge & Cox leading with a 181.5% increase to 21,900,363 shares, reflecting strong interest from institutional investors.
• Fortive's recent earnings report missed analyst expectations with an EPS of $0.58, and the company has also announced a dividend cut, declaring a $0.06 quarterly dividend.

Millennium Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 12.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,428,815 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 203,566 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.42% of Fortive worth $104,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in 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 bought a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC raised its stake in Fortive by 41.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 523 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FTV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. BNP Paribas restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Melius lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.79.

Fortive Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE FTV traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $47.75. 4,043,071 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,363,542. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Fortive Corporation has a 1-year low of $46.34 and a 1-year high of $83.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.40. The firm has a market cap of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 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 firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. The company's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.41%.

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that allows the company to buyback 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.