Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortive (NYSE:FTV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays cut their target price on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.64.

Fortive Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $76.80 on Thursday. Fortive has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $87.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $76.14 and its 200-day moving average is $74.64. 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 has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.14.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Fortive will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total transaction 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 represents a 9.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,058,503.21. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Fortive by 15.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 395,488 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,216,000 after purchasing an additional 51,690 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,932 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 2.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 406,085 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,052,000 after buying an additional 10,795 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Fortive during the third quarter worth $1,346,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Fortive by 18.3% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 52,797 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,912,000 after acquiring an additional 8,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.