Raymond James Financial Cuts Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Price Target to $65.00

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by Raymond James Financial from $90.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the technology company's stock. Raymond James Financial's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.62% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.08.

Fortive Price Performance

NYSE:FTV traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $53.01. 2,484,750 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,738,491. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.93. 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 market cap of $18.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.09. Fortive has a 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $83.32.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Fortive's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fortive will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 made changes to their positions in FTV. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Fortive by 114.2% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.