Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Purchased by Tritonpoint Wealth LLC

Tritonpoint Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 3.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,208 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FTV. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Fortive by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 2,811 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Fortive by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,189 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Fortive by 129.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 73,633 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,522,000 after buying an additional 41,506 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Fortive by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,148 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bull Street Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fortive by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bull Street Advisors LLC now owns 18,562 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $69.32 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $69.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $23.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Fortive’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. The trade was a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on FTV. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. BNP Paribas downgraded Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.