Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. Decreases Stock Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. lessened its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 276,822 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 40,547 shares during the period. Fortive makes up approximately 1.2% of Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. owned 0.08% of Fortive worth $20,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth about $358,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $22,412,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $136,794,000. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter worth about $795,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Price Performance

NYSE:FTV traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $70.76. 1,939,127 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,647,378. The firm's 50-day moving average is $69.30 and its 200-day moving average is $74.27. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.32. The stock has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FTV. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.62.

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.