Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fortive in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Fortive from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.64.

Fortive Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $76.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.62. Fortive has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $87.10. The company has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.14.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Fortive will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owns 48,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. This represents a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Fortive during the second quarter worth $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in Fortive by 71.0% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 424 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Fortive by 186.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 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.