Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Cut to "Neutral" at BNP Paribas

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by BNP Paribas from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $67.00 target price on the technology company's stock. BNP Paribas' price target indicates a potential upside of 3.39% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on FTV. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.33.

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Fortive Price Performance

Fortive stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.81. The company had a trading volume of 4,267,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,358,081. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $75.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. Fortive has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.66.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fortive will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 42,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,349,585.65. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 186.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. 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.