Banco Santander S.A. Raises Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 64.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,470 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,262 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $1,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FTV. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Fortive by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,245 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. RDA Financial Network bought a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $327,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Fortive by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 308,593 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,722,000 after buying an additional 22,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen raised Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Fortive from $93.00 to $83.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Fortive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Fortive from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.08.

Fortive Stock Performance

FTV traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,308,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,687,905. Fortive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.05 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.35.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

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.