Fortive (FTV) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate AME or FTV?

AMETEK currently has a consensus price target of $205.20, indicating a potential upside of 12.63%. Fortive has a consensus price target of $65.86, indicating a potential upside of 38.74%. Given Fortive's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Fortive is more favorable than AMETEK.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AMETEK	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.46
Fortive	0 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Does the media favor AME or FTV?

In the previous week, AMETEK had 17 more articles in the media than Fortive. MarketBeat recorded 44 mentions for AMETEK and 27 mentions for Fortive. AMETEK's average media sentiment score of 0.99 beat Fortive's score of 0.54 indicating that AMETEK is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AMETEK	24 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Fortive	12 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

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

Which has more risk and volatility, AME or FTV?

AMETEK has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fortive has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% 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	6.06	$1.38B	$6.21	29.34
Fortive	$6.23B	2.58	$832.90M	$2.22	21.38

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 $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. AMETEK pays out 20.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fortive pays out 14.4% 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 increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years and Fortive has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. AMETEK is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend 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 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.