Teacher Retirement System of Texas Trims Stock Holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 53.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,753 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 57,761 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Fortive were worth $3,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This represents 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 Trading Up 0.2%

FTV traded up $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.88. 3,077,896 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,770,648. Fortive Corporation has a one year low of $50.00 and a one year 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.63.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $86.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.67.

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.