Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on FTV. Truist Financial cut their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.08.

Fortive Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $53.01 on Friday. Fortive has a 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $83.32. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $68.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.93. The company has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. Fortive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fortive will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 60.0% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 239,735 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $17,544,000 after purchasing an additional 89,891 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at $738,000. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at $352,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,571 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 2,410 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $17,750,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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