Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortive (NYSE:FTV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Fortive in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a buy rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Fortive from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Fortive from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $84.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $86.46.

Fortive Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:FTV opened at $76.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.78 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.15. Fortive has a fifty-two week low of $63.05 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $82.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.15.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 12.22%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fortive will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total transaction of $3,523,416.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 61,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,336,849.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total transaction of $3,523,416.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 61,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,336,849.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total transaction of $739,036.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,689,743.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 63,937 shares of company stock valued at $5,475,122. 0.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in Fortive during the first quarter worth $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive during the third quarter worth $28,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.