Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Stock Rating Upgraded by 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 Thursday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on FTV. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target 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. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $92.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.64.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $75.32 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.22 and a 200 day moving average of $74.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.14. Fortive has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fortive will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.75%.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,058,503.21. The trade was a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total value of $382,900.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 253,207 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,991,000 after acquiring an additional 5,607 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in Fortive by 197.0% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,264 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 10,125 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Fortive by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,289 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,292,000 after purchasing an additional 303,788 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. 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.