Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $65.00 and last traded at $65.66, with a volume of 6292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.18.

Fortive Trading Down 5.4 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.56%.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $15,763,884.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,509,043.38. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortive by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,947,135 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,221,036,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810,997 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its holdings in Fortive by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 11,903,240 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $892,743,000 after buying an additional 137,479 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Fortive by 164.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,730,161 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $654,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,429,566 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fortive by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,294,930 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $620,480,000 after buying an additional 103,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Fortive by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,904,282 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $594,108,000 after purchasing an additional 166,123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

About Fortive

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.