Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by BNP Paribas

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) was downgraded by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $67.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price target indicates a potential upside of 6.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on FTV. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.33.

Fortive Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $62.62 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $76.37 and its 200-day moving average is $76.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Fortive has a 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $84.69. The company has a market capitalization of $21.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Fortive will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.95, for a total transaction of $519,115.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,941,425.85. This represents a 21.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total transaction of $237,308.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,349,585.65. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529 over the last quarter. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Fortive by 186.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.