UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Purchases 88,936 Shares of Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Fortive Corporation by 2.4% during the first quarter, owning 3,742,007 shares valued at approximately $273.84 million.
• Multiple institutional investors significantly boosted their holdings in Fortive, with Dodge & Cox leading the way with an increase of 181.5%, now owning 21.9 million shares worth about $1.6 billion.
• Fortive recently cut its dividend to $0.06 per share with a low annual yield of 0.5%, indicating a strategy to optimize cash flow amid changing market conditions.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,742,007 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 88,936 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 1.10% of Fortive worth $273,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company's stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 2,811 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Fortive by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 17,875 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Fortive by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 195,544 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,666,000 after acquiring an additional 5,762 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Fortive by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 16,603 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,031,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:FTV traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,988,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,725,116. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.10. Fortive Corporation has a one year low of $46.34 and a one year high of $83.32. The business's 50-day moving average is $49.19 and its 200-day moving average is $62.87.

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

Fortive declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to repurchase 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on FTV shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays set a $54.00 target price on shares of Fortive and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. BNP Paribas reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Melius Research raised shares of Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.79.

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.