Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

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

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fortive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.82.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $75.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. 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 has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week high of $87.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.52.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Fortive will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. The trade was a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,058,503.21. This represents a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FTV. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC raised its position in Fortive by 1.7% during the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 8,854 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 3.4% in the third quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Fortive by 1.6% in the third quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 10,048 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.