Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by BNP Paribas

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) was downgraded by analysts at BNP Paribas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $67.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price target points to a potential upside of 5.21% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on FTV. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.33.

Fortive Trading Down 6.0 %

NYSE FTV opened at $63.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. Fortive has a 52 week low of $60.39 and a 52 week high of $84.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $75.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fortive will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $15,763,884.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total transaction of $237,308.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,349,585.65. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Fortive by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in shares of Fortive by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,696 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. 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.