Natixis Advisors LLC Has $17.88 Million Stock Position in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fortive Corporation by 487.4%, acquiring an additional 202,760 shares in Q1, raising its total stake to 244,359 shares.
• Fortive announced a share buyback program allowing the company to reacquire up to 15,630,000 shares, indicating that the board believes its stock is undervalued.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.58 per share, falling short of analysts' estimates, and experienced a slight revenue decline compared to the previous year.

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 487.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 244,359 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 202,760 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Fortive worth $17,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the first quarter valued at approximately $424,000. Tredje AP fonden lifted its holdings in Fortive by 14.7% during the first quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 390,000 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,540,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter valued at $230,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter valued at $5,579,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Fortive by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 38,906 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 5,452 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE FTV traded up $1.20 on Tuesday, hitting $48.42. The stock had a trading volume of 8,108,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,079,945. Fortive Corporation has a one year low of $46.35 and a one year high of $83.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $16.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50-day moving average is $60.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.22.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cowen lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fortive from $86.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho cut their target price on Fortive from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.86.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.