Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) by 35.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,484 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,075 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Fortive during the first quarter worth $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 114.2% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Fortive by 229.6% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Price Performance

NYSE:FTV opened at $47.61 on Thursday. Fortive Corporation has a one year low of $46.35 and a one year high of $83.32. The stock has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.93.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.02). Fortive had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 13.62%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that allows the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FTV shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fortive to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cowen cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.86.

Insider Activity

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. The trade was a 28.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fortive 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.