Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortive (NYSE:FTV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Fortive from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.45.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $79.75 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.10. Fortive has a 12 month low of $66.15 and a 12 month high of $87.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Fortive’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fortive will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. This trade represents a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Fortive in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 71.0% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 424 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Fortive by 186.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.