Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Coverage Initiated at UBS Group

UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $84.00 price objective on the technology company's stock.

FTV has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Fortive from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.82.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded up $1.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.19. The stock had a trading volume of 2,649,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,963,687. The stock has a market cap of $26.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. Fortive has a 1-year low of $66.15 and a 1-year high of $87.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $75.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.17.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. Fortive's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fortive will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In related news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $1,049,657.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 68,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fortive 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 transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,058,503.21. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $1,049,657.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 68,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,030,281.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 192,895 shares of company stock valued at $13,878,151 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in Fortive by 14,635.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the technology company's stock worth $315,720,000 after purchasing an additional 3,972,855 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Fortive by 47.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,244,117 shares of the technology company's stock worth $537,119,000 after buying an additional 1,999,792 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Fortive by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,463,772 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $554,253,000 after buying an additional 1,045,245 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Fortive by 59.3% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,359,069 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $107,271,000 after buying an additional 505,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Fortive by 78.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 853,187 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $63,221,000 after purchasing an additional 373,957 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

About Fortive

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.