Brokerages Set Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) PT at $73.67

Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.67.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Fortive from $86.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Fortive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of Fortive stock traded down $0.77 on Friday, reaching $51.93. 91,581 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,075,960. Fortive has a 1-year low of $50.00 and a 1-year high of $83.32. The firm has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.09. The company's 50-day moving average is $67.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.99.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 12.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Fortive will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that allows the company to buyback 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 51,750 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Fortive by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 14,515 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in Fortive by 41.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 523 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV boosted its stake in Fortive by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 27,557 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,017,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Fortive by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,119 shares of the technology company's stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

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.