Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 399 Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,676 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Fortive were worth $1,733,000 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 the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Fortive by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Fortive by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $383,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Up 1.0%

FTV stock opened at $70.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.11. Fortive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $60.39 and a fifty-two week high of $83.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.84 and a 200-day moving average of $73.90.

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

Fortive announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.