Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Short Interest Down 8.7% in January

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,040,000 shares, a drop of 8.7% from the January 15th total of 5,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on FTV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.64.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded down $1.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.03. 2,881,848 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,425,448. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.99. The company has a market cap of $27.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Fortive has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Fortive will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 15.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 395,488 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,216,000 after acquiring an additional 51,690 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in Fortive by 197.0% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,264 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 10,125 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fortive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 406,085 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10,795 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Fortive by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,502 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,832,000 after buying an additional 7,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Fortive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,346,000. 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.