Fortive Corporation $FTV Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management has reduced its stake in Fortive Corporation by 3.5%, now holding approximately 177,898 shares valued at $9.27 million.
• Fortive's recent quarterly earnings fell short of expectations, reporting $0.58 earnings per share against a forecast of $0.60, with a slight 0.4% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company's Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan allowing for the repurchase of 15.63 million shares, indicating confidence in the stock’s potential value.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 177,898 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 6,541 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.05% of Fortive worth $9,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FTV. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Fortive in the first quarter worth $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortive in the first quarter worth $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in Fortive by 114.2% in the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fortive by 246.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 502 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cowen cut Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Fortive from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $54.00 price target on Fortive and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.79.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,215,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,413,034. The company has a market cap of $16.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $48.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.40. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $46.34 and a fifty-two week high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.02). The firm 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 revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Fortive's payout ratio is currently 10.81%.

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.