Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Stock Price

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) had its target price reduced by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $77.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 7.93% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on FTV. TD Cowen raised Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upgraded Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.20.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE FTV opened at $71.34 on Thursday. Fortive has a fifty-two week low of $64.69 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10. The stock has a market cap of $24.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.48.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. Fortive’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Fortive will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total value of $508,141.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 73,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total value of $508,141.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $1,049,657.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,030,281.80. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 Trading of Fortive

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 841,041 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,346,000 after buying an additional 4,669 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in Fortive by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 8,375 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in Fortive by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 27,751 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,216,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 5.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 24,289 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,089,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Finally, SpiderRock Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

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.