Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 769,029 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 21,514 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Fortive worth $56,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FTV. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 114.2% during 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 during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 229.6% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FTV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.77.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE:FTV traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.08. The stock had a trading volume of 6,551,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,713,242. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.53. Fortive Corporation has a 52 week low of $50.00 and a 52 week high of $83.32. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 13.19%. Fortive's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Fortive's payout ratio is 14.04%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.