Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

FTV has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.64.

Fortive Stock Up 0.2 %

FTV traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.80. 2,291,956 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,227,451. The firm has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.14. Fortive has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $87.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.14 and a 200 day moving average of $74.64.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total value of $12,320,351.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,058,503.21. This trade represents a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total value of $382,900.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,702,336.68. The trade was a 9.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FTV. First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in Fortive by 197.0% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,264 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 10,125 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Fortive by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,289 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $118,292,000 after buying an additional 303,788 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 2.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 406,085 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,052,000 after acquiring an additional 10,795 shares during the last quarter. 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.