Share Repurchase Plan Authorized by Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Board of Directors

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive Price Performance

NYSE:FTV opened at $71.02 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $69.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. Fortive has a 12-month low of $60.39 and a 12-month high of $83.32.

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

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is 14.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.92.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other Fortive 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 transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This trade represents 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 currently owned by insiders.

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.