Shorepath Capital Management LLC Sells 496 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Shorepath Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,093 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. Fortive comprises 4.0% of Shorepath Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Shorepath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $5,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Fortive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in Fortive by 229.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas cut Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total value of $1,058,478.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fortive Stock Up 1.8%

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

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Fortive declared that its board has authorized 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.