Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $88.20.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FTV. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Fortive in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price target for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th.

Fortive Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $71.16 on Tuesday. Fortive has a 1-year low of $64.69 and a 1-year high of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $24.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortive will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $1,049,657.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,030,281.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fortive news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $1,049,657.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,161 shares in the company, valued at $5,030,281.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $281,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Fortive in the third quarter worth approximately $341,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Fortive by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,591 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fortive by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 32,004 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,526,000 after buying an additional 4,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Fortive during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. 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.