Fortive (FTV) Competitors

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) and Fortive (NYSE:FTV) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Which has more risk & volatility, AME or FTV?

AMETEK has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fortive has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, AME or FTV?

AMETEK has higher revenue and earnings than Fortive. Fortive is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AMETEK, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AMETEK	$6.94B	6.28	$1.38B	$6.21	30.37
Fortive	$6.15B	2.69	$832.90M	$2.22	22.05

Is AME or FTV a better dividend stock?

AMETEK pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Fortive pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. AMETEK pays out 20.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fortive pays out 10.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. AMETEK has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years and Fortive has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. AMETEK is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to AME or FTV?

In the previous week, Fortive had 1 more articles in the media than AMETEK. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for Fortive and 17 mentions for AMETEK. Fortive's average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat AMETEK's score of 1.35 indicating that Fortive is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AMETEK	15 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Fortive	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend AME or FTV?

AMETEK presently has a consensus price target of $205.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.70%. Fortive has a consensus price target of $62.79, suggesting a potential upside of 28.29%. Given Fortive's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Fortive is more favorable than AMETEK.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AMETEK	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54
Fortive	0 Sell rating(s)	14 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.22

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in AME or FTV?

87.4% of AMETEK shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.9% of Fortive shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of AMETEK shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Fortive shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is AME or FTV more profitable?

AMETEK has a net margin of 20.60% compared to Fortive's net margin of 13.62%. AMETEK's return on equity of 16.53% beat Fortive's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AMETEK	20.60%	16.53%	10.98%
Fortive	13.62%	11.96%	7.08%

Summary

AMETEK beats Fortive on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.