Truist Financial Reiterates Hold Rating for Fortive (NYSE:FTV)

Fortive (NYSE:FTV)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by Truist Financial in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $55.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $60.00. Truist Financial’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.05% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on FTV. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $86.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Cowen lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Melius downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.86.

Fortive Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE FTV opened at $46.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.09. Fortive has a 52 week low of $46.47 and a 52 week high of $83.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.17 and a 200-day moving average of $69.57.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 11.96%. Fortive’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fortive will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FTV. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Fortive by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $149,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,717 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Fortive by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 190,659 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $14,300,000 after acquiring an additional 9,415 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fortive by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,294,930 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $620,480,000 after acquiring an additional 103,015 shares during the period. 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.