Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on FTV. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group started coverage on Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.45.

Fortive Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:FTV opened at $79.00 on Friday. Fortive has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $87.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.81.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Fortive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Fortive during the second quarter worth $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Fortive by 71.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 424 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Fortive by 186.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Company Profile

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.