Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Price Target Raised to $80.00

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on FTV. Citigroup downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.64.

Fortive Stock Up 0.2 %

FTV opened at $76.80 on Tuesday. Fortive has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $87.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.14.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Fortive will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at $3,702,336.68. This represents a 9.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total value of $12,320,351.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. The trade was a 80.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its position in Fortive by 197.0% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,264 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 10,125 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,289 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,292,000 after buying an additional 303,788 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Fortive by 186.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Fortive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 406,085 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,052,000 after acquiring an additional 10,795 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently 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.