Panagora Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Fortive Corporation by 20%, selling 142,158 shares during the first quarter, and now owns 568,584 shares valued at approximately $41.6 million.
• Fortive has faced target price cuts from various analysts, including a reduction from Royal Bank of Canada, now setting the target price at $56, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.57.
• Fortive announced a dividend cut, with a new quarterly payment of $0.06 per share, contributing to an annual dividend yield of only 0.5%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 568,584 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 142,158 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Fortive worth $41,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortive during the first quarter worth $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Fortive by 114.2% in the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Fortive by 229.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FTV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BNP Paribas reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Melius downgraded 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. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.79.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,799,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,363,939. The company's 50 day moving average is $51.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.58. The stock has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.10. 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 fifty-two week low of $46.34 and a fifty-two week high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. 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. Equities research analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.81%.

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

Fortive Company 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.