Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $92.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.64.

Fortive Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of FTV opened at $75.32 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $76.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.64. Fortive has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $87.10. 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 $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.14.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. Fortive’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Fortive will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total value of $382,900.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. This trade represents a 9.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. This trade represents a 80.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake 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 period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.