StockNews.com Downgrades Fortive (NYSE:FTV) to Hold

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

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on FTV. Wolfe Research cut shares of Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.82.

Fortive Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $75.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.52. Fortive has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $87.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Fortive will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid 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 was Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. The trade was a 9.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on 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 $3,058,503.21. This trade represents a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FTV. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortive during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the second quarter worth about $97,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 9.4% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 59,340 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,397,000 after buying an additional 5,114 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,086 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 2,724 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Fortive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $749,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.