Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,263 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,322 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $2,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FTV. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,811 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 129.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 73,633 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,522,000 after purchasing an additional 41,506 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,148 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Bull Street Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Bull Street Advisors LLC now owns 18,562 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $69.32 on Friday. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $60.39 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.56 billion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.30 and its 200-day moving average is $74.31.

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

Fortive announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on FTV. Truist Financial cut their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.62.

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.