Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Fortive Corporation's shares reached a new 52-week low at $46.34 on Monday, with significant trading volume of over 1 million shares.
• Analysts have generally rated the stock as a "Hold" with a lowered average target price of $65.86, indicating mixed investor sentiment.
• Fortive's recent earnings report missed expectations, showing a revenue decline of 0.4% year-over-year and an EPS of $0.58, below the consensus estimate of $0.60.

Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $46.34 and last traded at $46.73, with a volume of 1027712 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FTV. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $86.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Melius downgraded shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Fortive to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.86.

Fortive Stock Down 0.7%

The firm has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day moving average is $58.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.02). Fortive had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 13.62%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Fortive's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other Fortive 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 transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,029,554. The trade was a 28.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Fortive by 11.1% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 10,793 shares of the technology company's stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC boosted its position in Fortive by 28.7% during the first quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 22,298 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 4,978 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Fortive by 13.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,343 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,757,000 after purchasing an additional 5,963 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the first quarter worth approximately $3,542,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 60.0% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 239,735 shares of the technology company's stock worth $17,544,000 after buying an additional 89,891 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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