Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Shares Gap Down to $80.70

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $80.70, but opened at $74.65. Fortive shares last traded at $77.70, with a volume of 1,361,319 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Fortive from $93.00 to $83.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Fortive from $92.00 to $84.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho increased their price target on Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Fortive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.46.

Fortive Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $84.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.13. The firm has a market cap of $26.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 14.27%. Sell-side analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,676,445. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Fortive news, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,017 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,445. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total value of $3,523,416.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,855 shares in the company, valued at $5,336,849.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 63,937 shares of company stock worth $5,475,122. Corporate insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the third quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Fortive in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.