Perpetual Ltd Buys 196,369 Shares of Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in Fortive Corporation by 81.9%, acquiring an additional 196,369 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total to 436,104 shares valued at approximately $22.7 million.
• Fortive reported earnings of $0.58 per share for the most recent quarter, falling short of analysts' estimates, and announced a dividend reduction to $0.06 per share, resulting in a 0.5% yield.
• The company initiated a share buyback program allowing for the repurchase of up to 15.63 million shares, indicating management's belief that the stock may be undervalued.

Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 81.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 436,104 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 196,369 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd owned about 0.13% of Fortive worth $22,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FTV. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in Fortive by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 47,957 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,500,000 after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its position in Fortive by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 336,574 shares of the technology company's stock worth $17,546,000 after purchasing an additional 48,789 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Fortive by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,749 shares of the technology company's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Fortive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $608,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,296,000 after buying an additional 6,753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.45. 622,157 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,409,916. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.40. Fortive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $46.34 and a fifty-two week high of $83.32. The firm has a market cap of $16.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.81%.

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cowen downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Fortive from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.79.

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.