Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $53.94, but opened at $52.05. Fortive shares last traded at $50.37, with a volume of 889,493 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.77.

Fortive Stock Up 2.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.53. The company has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.11.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 12.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,811 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $5,847,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Fortive by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,043 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth $338,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fortive by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the technology company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.