Cetera Investment Advisers Cuts Holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,517 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,554 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Fortive were worth $3,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Fortive in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 114.2% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 229.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Melius lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Fortive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Fortive from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Melius Research upgraded Fortive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was 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 owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. The trade was a 28.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Up 1.5%

Fortive stock opened at $47.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.22. The company has a market capitalization of $15.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.08. Fortive Corporation has a 52 week low of $46.35 and a 52 week high of $83.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management 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.