The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Position in Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in Fortive Corporation by 1.2%, selling 18,107 shares, bringing its total ownership to 1,483,159 shares valued at approximately $108.5 million.
• Fortive's stock has recently been downgraded by analysts, with Cowen and Melius lowering their ratings to "hold" and setting a price target of $62.00, while Wells Fargo cut its price objective from $72.00 to $55.00.
• The company is initiating a stock buyback program allowing the repurchase of up to 15,630,000 shares, typically viewed as a sign that management believes the stock is undervalued.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its stake in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,483,159 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 18,107 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.44% of Fortive worth $108,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortive by 11.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 10,793 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Fortive by 28.7% in the first quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 22,298 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 4,978 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Fortive by 13.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,343 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,757,000 after purchasing an additional 5,963 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,542,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd raised its position in shares of Fortive by 60.0% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 239,735 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $17,544,000 after purchasing an additional 89,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Cowen lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Melius lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.79.

Fortive Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Fortive stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Thursday, reaching $47.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 726,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,348,002. Fortive Corporation has a 52-week low of $46.34 and a 52-week high of $83.32. The company has a market cap of $15.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50-day moving average is $50.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

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

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 27th that allows the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is 14.41%.

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.