Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Acquires 5,083 Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,464 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,083 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Fortive were worth $11,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $583,493,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $412,445,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Fortive by 164.5% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 5,429,566 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fortive by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,947,135 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,221,036,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Third Point LLC acquired a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,500,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. TD Cowen lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 directly owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by company insiders.

Fortive Trading Down 2.0%

Fortive stock traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $51.13. The stock had a trading volume of 4,430,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,817,842. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. Fortive Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.00 and a 12 month high of $83.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.98.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. Fortive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Fortive's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.