Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Stock Rating Lowered by Citigroup

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $86.00 target price on the technology company's stock, down from their previous target price of $92.00. Citigroup's target price indicates a potential upside of 9.62% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on FTV. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. Raymond James upgraded Fortive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.73.

Fortive Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of FTV stock traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $78.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,436,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,005,398. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $76.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.28. Fortive has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. The company's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Fortive will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. This trade represents a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total transaction of $508,141.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 73,391 shares in the company, valued at $5,433,135.73. The trade was a 8.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 197,895 shares of company stock valued at $14,261,051 in the last three months. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Fortive by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 395,488 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,216,000 after purchasing an additional 51,690 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Fortive by 4.8% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,932 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Fortive by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 98,487 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,936 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Fortive by 111.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 541 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Fortive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $749,000. 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.