RDA Financial Network Boosts Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

RDA Financial Network lifted its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,965 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the quarter. RDA Financial Network’s holdings in Fortive were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $583,493,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $412,445,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Fortive by 164.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,730,161 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $654,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,429,566 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Fortive by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,947,135 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,221,036,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810,997 shares during the period. Finally, Third Point LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,500,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Up 1.8%

FTV opened at $73.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $60.39 and a 52 week high of $83.32. The stock has a market cap of $24.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.96, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $68.82 and a 200-day moving average of $74.54.

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

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Fortive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Eight 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, Fortive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.08.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,029,554. The trade was a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Company 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.