Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from nineteen brokerages, with 15 hold recommendations, 3 buy ratings, and 1 sell recommendation.
• The average 12-month target price among analysts for Fortive is $61.14, despite recent downgrades from firms such as Morgan Stanley and Weiss Ratings.
• Fortive recently cut its quarterly dividend to $0.06 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, while institutional investors own approximately 94.94% of the stock.

Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.1429.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FTV shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut Fortive from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho cut their price target on Fortive from $65.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Melius cut Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FTV. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Fortive by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company's stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,525 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,673,000 after acquiring an additional 3,285 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 686 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,386 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in Fortive during the 1st quarter valued at $738,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Price Performance

Fortive stock opened at $49.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.15. Fortive has a 52-week low of $46.34 and a 52-week high of $83.32. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $48.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter. Fortive had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 13.62%. On average, equities analysts predict that Fortive will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.81%.

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.

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