Strs Ohio Makes New $16.06 Million Investment in Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• Strs Ohio made a new investment in Fortive Corporation, acquiring 219,431 shares valued at approximately $16 million, representing 0.06% ownership in the company.
• Fortive's stock prices have been downgraded by analysts, with several setting a new price target around $65, noting a consensus rating of "Hold."
• The company recently announced a share repurchase program for 15.63 million shares, indicating confidence from its leadership in the stock's value.

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 219,431 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $16,058,000. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.06% of Fortive at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Redmond Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 14,515 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 41.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 523 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV grew its holdings in Fortive by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 27,557 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,017,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Fortive by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,119 shares of the technology company's stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RDA Financial Network grew its holdings in Fortive by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 4,965 shares of the technology company's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Melius lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Fortive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.79.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE:FTV traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $48.82. The stock had a trading volume of 983,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,381,689. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.23. Fortive Corporation has a 52 week low of $46.34 and a 52 week high of $83.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Fortive's payout ratio is 10.81%.

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.