Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.9167.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FTV shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Fortive from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Fortive from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Fortive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th.

Insider Activity

In other Fortive news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 47,557 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $2,891,941.17. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 87,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,337,901.80. This represents a 35.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kate Mitchell sold 7,131 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.34, for a total transaction of $416,022.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,853,753.50. This represents a 18.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FTV. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 553 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 246.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 502 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of FTV stock opened at $60.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm's 50-day moving average is $57.88 and its 200-day moving average is $55.40. The stock has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.17, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.09. Fortive has a 52-week low of $46.34 and a 52-week high of $74.67.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The technology company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 12.66%. Fortive's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Fortive has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortive will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.37%.

Fortive declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, May 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive Company Profile

Fortive Corporation NYSE: FTV is a diversified industrial technology company headquartered in Everett, Washington. The company was created through a spin‑off from Danaher Corporation in 2016 and has since focused on building a portfolio of professional instrumentation and industrial technology businesses. In 2020 Fortive completed a further portfolio separation with the spin‑off of Vontier, concentrating Fortive's activities on higher‑margin instrumentation, software and services.

Fortive's operations center on professional test and measurement, sensing and monitoring, software‑enabled solutions, and lifecycle services that support industrial and commercial customers.

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