PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its stake in Fortive Corporation by 8.4% in the first quarter, now holding 140,099 shares valued at approximately $10.25 million.
• Multiple analysts have recently lowered price targets for Fortive, with Citigroup setting a new target of $69.00, indicating a trend of caution on the stock.
• Fortive announced a stock buyback program enabling the purchase of up to 15,630,000 shares, suggesting that management believes the stock is undervalued.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,099 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 12,784 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Fortive were worth $10,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Fortive in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position 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 acquired a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Fortive by 229.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Melius lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Fortive from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen cut Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $85.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $55.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.86.

Fortive Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:FTV traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $47.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,499,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,304,178. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.08. Fortive Corporation has a 1 year low of $46.35 and a 1 year high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The company's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 27th that allows the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive 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.