Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.92.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $86.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd.

Fortive Stock Up 1.8%

FTV opened at $51.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Fortive has a fifty-two week low of $50.00 and a fifty-two week high of $83.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.96 and its 200 day moving average is $71.53.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released 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. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Research analysts expect that Fortive will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 428,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortive

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Fortive by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,947,135 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,221,036,000 after buying an additional 3,810,997 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Fortive by 181.5% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 21,900,363 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,602,669,000 after buying an additional 14,120,456 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 50.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,112,403 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $959,567,000 after purchasing an additional 4,382,242 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,294,930 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $620,480,000 after acquiring an additional 103,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,904,282 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $594,108,000 after purchasing an additional 166,123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

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.