Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Sells 22,994 Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lowered its holdings in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 546,159 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 22,994 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.16% of Fortive worth $39,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Fortive by 97.1% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 184.1% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 51,916 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,894,000 after buying an additional 33,642 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 32,883 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,466,000 after buying an additional 10,165 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,900,000. Finally, Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd boosted its stake in Fortive by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd now owns 67,000 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,025,000 after buying an additional 13,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Up 0.7%

Fortive stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,522,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,111,028. Fortive Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.66 and a 12 month high of $83.32. The company has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.68. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total value of $1,058,478.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $12,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fortive to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.36.

Fortive Company 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.