Barclays Lowers Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Price Target to $58.00

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Barclays from $86.00 to $58.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the technology company's stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FTV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.67.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.66. 3,538,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,800,155. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.09. Fortive has a 52 week low of $50.00 and a 52 week high of $83.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $67.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.19.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. Fortive's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Fortive will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to repurchase 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total value of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FTV. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Fortive during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Fortive by 114.2% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Company Profile

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.