Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. Trims Stake in Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. has significantly decreased its stake in Fortive Corporation by 99.3%, resulting in ownership of just 1,813 shares after selling 275,009 shares.
• Fortive's recent earnings report showed EPS of $0.58, missing estimates, and a net revenue decrease of 0.4% from the previous year.
• The company has authorized a stock buyback program for 15.63 million shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. reduced its stake in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 99.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,813 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 275,009 shares during the quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.'s holdings in Fortive were worth $95,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 181.5% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 21,900,363 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,602,669,000 after purchasing an additional 14,120,456 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 50.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,112,403 shares of the technology company's stock worth $959,567,000 after purchasing an additional 4,382,242 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,626,962 shares of the technology company's stock worth $411,781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764,432 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $136,794,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 4,854.2% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,451,325 shares of the technology company's stock worth $106,208,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,030 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Performance

FTV traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.43. 1,267,351 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,380,027. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 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. The company's fifty day moving average price is $48.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.02. Fortive Corporation has a 52-week low of $46.34 and a 52-week high of $83.32.

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

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.5%. Fortive's payout ratio is currently 10.81%.

Fortive announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. 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. Cowen lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Fortive and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortive to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.79.

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.