MetLife Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Fortive Corporation $FTV

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,718 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,106 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $6,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 114.2% during the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FTV. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BNP Paribas reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fortive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.57.

Fortive Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $48.60 on Thursday. Fortive Corporation has a 1 year low of $46.34 and a 1 year high of $83.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.60. The firm has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.02). Fortive had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Fortive has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.41%.

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.