Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Price Target Raised to $79.00

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $78.00 to $79.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the technology company's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.79% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on FTV. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.62.

Fortive Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE FTV traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $73.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 382,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,604,514. The firm has a market cap of $24.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. Fortive has a 12-month low of $60.39 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business's 50 day moving average is $68.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.54.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fortive will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to buyback 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. The trade was a 28.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 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. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FTV. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,838 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fortive by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,502 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,832,000 after purchasing an additional 7,829 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 10,148 shares of the technology company's stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 3,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Fortive by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 45,380 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,404,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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