StockNews.com Downgrades Fortive (NYSE:FTV) to Hold

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

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on FTV. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.45.

Fortive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of FTV traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,659,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,262,396. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $76.61 and its 200-day moving average is $74.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Fortive has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fortive will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,058,503.21. The trade was a 80.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. This trade represents 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.