Brokerages Set Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) PT at $73.67

Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.85.

FTV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Fortive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Fortive from $87.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE:FTV opened at $51.13 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $83.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.84. The company has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortive will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortive

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Fortive during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Fortive by 114.2% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.