Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV – Get Rating) by 85.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,728 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $1,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. NEXT Financial Group Inc boosted its stake in Fortive by 105.3% in the 3rd quarter. NEXT Financial Group Inc now owns 390 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Fortive by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 485 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. AGF Investments LLC bought a new position in Fortive in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in Fortive in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Fortive by 4,347.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 97.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $61.38 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.16. Fortive Co. has a twelve month low of $56.06 and a twelve month high of $79.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.
Fortive (NYSE:FTV – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 10.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 17th that authorizes the company to buyback 20,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 25th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 24th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is 17.28%.
In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 1,080 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.43, for a total transaction of $69,584.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 2,736 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.38, for a total transaction of $181,615.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,115 shares of company stock valued at $397,162 over the last three months. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
FTV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Vertical Research cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 3rd. Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 4th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, February 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.53.
Fortive Profile (Get Rating)
Fortive Corp. engages in the design, development, manufacturing, and marketing of professional and engineered products, software, and services for a variety of end markets. It operates through the following segments: Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions.
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