Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.92.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of Fortive stock traded up $1.13 on Friday, hitting $70.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,321,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,552,556. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $24.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $69.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.80. Fortive has a 1 year low of $60.39 and a 1 year high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortive will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $457,997.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,793.32. The trade was a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 now directly owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 236,595 shares of company stock valued at $17,473,123. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Fortive during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the first quarter worth $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Fortive by 114.2% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.