Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 70,554 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 11.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 662,973 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,554 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.20% of Fortive worth $48,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First County Bank CT grew its position in shares of Fortive by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 3,543 shares of the technology company's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 7,359.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 131,142 shares of the technology company's stock worth $9,597,000 after acquiring an additional 129,384 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Fortive by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,365 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in Fortive by 127.6% during the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 6,145 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 3,445 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in Fortive by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 29,126 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,131,000 after purchasing an additional 13,862 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE:FTV traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.08. 2,118,238 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,613,227. The business's 50-day moving average price is $68.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. Fortive Co. has a 1 year low of $60.39 and a 1 year high of $83.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Fortive's payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FTV. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.08.

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.