Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortive (NYSE:FTV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup cut Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fortive from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.45.

Fortive Stock Performance

FTV opened at $80.55 on Friday. Fortive has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $87.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $77.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.07.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fortive will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total value of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. This trade represents a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total value of $12,320,351.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. This represents a 80.11 % 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 company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Fortive in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortive by 71.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 424 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Fortive by 186.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.