Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Sells 7,737 Shares of Fortive Corporation $FTV

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd cut its holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,606 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,737 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Fortive were worth $2,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth about $497,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth about $253,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Fortive by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 186,113 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,958,000 after acquiring an additional 7,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Fortive by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 6,958 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 3,034 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Melius Research upgraded Fortive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Fortive from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (down from $60.00) on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.79.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV stock opened at $48.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.98. Fortive Corporation has a 52-week low of $46.34 and a 52-week high of $83.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.60.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly 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). The company 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%. Fortive’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. Research analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Fortive’s payout ratio is 10.81%.

Fortive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.