Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Stock Price

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Mizuho from $85.00 to $65.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the technology company's stock. Mizuho's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.74% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on FTV. Barclays lowered their price objective on Fortive from $86.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen cut shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.92.

Fortive Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:FTV traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.29. 2,753,421 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,831,046. Fortive has a fifty-two week low of $50.00 and a fifty-two week high of $83.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.69.

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the business'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 value of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,290. The trade was a 21.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company's stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 1.0% in the first quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 14,515 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in shares of Fortive by 41.0% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 523 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV raised its stake in shares of Fortive by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 27,557 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,017,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Fortive by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,119 shares of the technology company's stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Fortive

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.