Liberty Capital Management Inc. Sells 291 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,328 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 291 shares during the quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $2,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at about $358,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth about $17,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,412,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth about $136,794,000. Finally, Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $795,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of FTV opened at $70.91 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $24.10 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.41. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.32.

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

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

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors 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 yield of 0.45%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.