Chicago Capital LLC Invests $318,000 in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Chicago Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,352 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $583,493,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $412,445,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 164.5% in 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 in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Fortive by 9.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,810,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Third Point LLC bought a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $142,500,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Performance

Fortive stock opened at $69.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $23.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Fortive Corporation has a 1 year low of $60.39 and a 1 year high of $83.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.18.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly 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. Fortive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Fortive’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

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

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.