Continuum Advisory LLC Grows Position in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) by 14,966.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 904 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $66,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Fortive during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in Fortive by 114.2% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $70.12 on Thursday. Fortive Corporation has a 12-month low of $60.39 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 12.90%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to repurchase 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FTV shares. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.62.

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.