Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on FTV. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.45.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV opened at $80.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. Fortive has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $87.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $77.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.09.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,702,336.68. This trade represents a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 directly owns 42,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. This represents a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Fortive by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 13,565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after buying an additional 5,741 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 1,177.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 121,479 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,002,000 after acquiring an additional 111,968 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in Fortive in the second quarter valued at approximately $465,000. AXA S.A. increased its position in Fortive by 0.7% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 31,577 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,340,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Fortive by 37.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 811,399 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,849,000 after purchasing an additional 221,503 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.