Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on FTV. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.64.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $75.32 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.64. 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 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 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its 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 for 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 business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Fortive will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total value of $12,320,351.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. This represents a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total value of $382,900.00. Following the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Fortive by 14,635.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $315,720,000 after acquiring an additional 3,972,855 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 1,005.9% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,937,153 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $152,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761,983 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Fortive by 13.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,041,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $634,701,000 after purchasing an additional 977,428 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 1,014.1% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 924,671 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $72,984,000 after purchasing an additional 841,671 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Fortive by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,359,069 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,271,000 after buying an additional 505,882 shares during the last quarter. 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.