Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on FTV. Citigroup downgraded shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.64.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE:FTV traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $80.59. 1,857,292 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,352,728. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.15. Fortive has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $77.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.61.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fortive will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Fortive by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Fortive by 3.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Fortive by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fortive by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC raised its position in shares of Fortive by 1.7% in the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 8,854 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.