Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Schubert & Co

Key Points

• Schubert & Co reduced its holdings in Fortive Corporation by 71.5%, now owning only 5,183 shares after selling 12,972 shares, which were valued at $379,000.
• CEO James A. Lico recently sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock for approximately $12.67 million, marking a 28.99% decrease in his position.
• Fortive plans to buy back 15,630,000 shares as authorized by its Board of Directors, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Schubert & Co lowered its stake in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 71.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,183 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 12,972 shares during the period. Schubert & Co's holdings in Fortive were worth $379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FTV. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 114.2% in the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 229.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FTV. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Melius downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total value of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,029,554. The trade was 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.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV traded down $1.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $48.49. The company had a trading volume of 2,097,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,165,504. Fortive Corporation has a twelve month low of $48.20 and a twelve month high of $83.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 27th that allows the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.