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 report sent to investors on Saturday.

FTV has been the topic of a number of other reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Fortive from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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, Fortive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.45.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of FTV opened at $79.75 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.10. The company has a market capitalization of $27.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. Fortive has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. Fortive’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Fortive will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.08 dividend. 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 is currently 12.75%.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of Fortive 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,702,336.68. The trade was a 9.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm’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 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 corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FTV. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Fortive by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 395,488 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,216,000 after buying an additional 51,690 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,932 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 197.0% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,264 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 10,125 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fortive by 2.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 406,085 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,052,000 after buying an additional 10,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Fortive in the third quarter valued at $1,346,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently 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.