Wellington Management Group LLP Reduces Holdings in Fortive Corporation $FTV

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in Fortive Corporation by 45.6%, selling 816,726 shares and owning approximately 0.29% of the company worth $71.27 million.
• Fortive's stock recently opened at $49.28 and reported a quarterly earnings miss, with an EPS of $0.58 vs. the expected $0.60.
• The company has authorized a stock buyback program allowing the repurchase of 15.63 million shares, indicating potential undervaluation of its stock.

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 45.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 973,889 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 816,726 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.29% of Fortive worth $71,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Fortive by 164.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,730,161 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $654,763,000 after buying an additional 5,429,566 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Fortive by 96.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,626,962 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $411,781,000 after buying an additional 2,764,432 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in Fortive by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,297,573 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $322,318,000 after buying an additional 720,250 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Fortive by 2.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,929 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $297,691,000 after buying an additional 109,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Fortive by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,653,071 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $273,980,000 after buying an additional 208,866 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE:FTV traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $47.76. The stock had a trading volume of 809,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,344,368. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.08. Fortive Corporation has a twelve month low of $46.34 and a twelve month high of $83.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.60.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 11.96%. Fortive's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive announced 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Fortive's payout ratio is 9.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on FTV. Wall Street Zen raised Fortive to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Cowen cut Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Fortive from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Melius downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Fortive from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.57.

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.