Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 7,880 Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 387,900 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,880 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Fortive worth $28,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FTV. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 2,811 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,869 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at $5,847,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at $22,412,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE FTV traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.88. 3,077,896 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,770,648. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.09. The company's fifty day moving average is $68.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.63. Fortive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.00 and a fifty-two week high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 12.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. 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 share buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FTV shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.67.

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.