Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Stock Price

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $84.00 to $86.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.08.

Fortive Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE FTV opened at $72.13 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. Fortive has a 12 month low of $60.39 and a 12 month high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Fortive will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that allows the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,029,554. The trade was a 28.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% 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 insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Fortive by 114.2% during the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.