Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 569,153 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $42,686,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.16% of Fortive at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Fortive by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,502 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,832,000 after buying an additional 7,829 shares in the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $358,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $17,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $22,412,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $136,794,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas downgraded Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.92.

Fortive Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Fortive stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.17. 4,282,229 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,585,253. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.67. Fortive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.39 and a fifty-two week high of $83.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

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

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now directly owns 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

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.