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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortive (NYSE:FTV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on FTV. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV stock opened at $80.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.53. Fortive has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fortive will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 50.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 926 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,209 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 276.2% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,043 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 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.