Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Downgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Fortive (NYSE:FTV) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $90.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $95.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortive from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Vertical Research lowered shares of Fortive from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a buy rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $86.54.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $80.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Fortive has a fifty-two week low of $62.70 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.95. The company has a market cap of $28.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The technology company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Fortive’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortive will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value of $787,669.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,162,267. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total transaction of $3,523,416.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,336,849.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total transaction of $787,669.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,162,267. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 63,937 shares of company stock worth $5,475,122. 0.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Fortive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.