Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 997,413 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 16,394 shares during the quarter. Fortive accounts for 1.4% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $72,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fortive by 9.7% during 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 period. Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 11,903,240 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $892,743,000 after buying an additional 137,479 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 5,429,566 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,294,930 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $620,480,000 after purchasing an additional 103,015 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Fortive by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,904,282 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $594,108,000 after acquiring an additional 166,123 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FTV shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.62.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV opened at $71.29 on Thursday. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $60.39 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.04 and a 200-day moving average of $74.47.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to buyback 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total value of $1,058,478.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

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.