Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Stock

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) had its price target upped by Truist Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price suggests a potential upside of 22.48% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on FTV. Wolfe Research lowered Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.82.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of Fortive stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $73.48. 362,886 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,004,933. The business has a fifty day moving average of $76.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. Fortive has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Fortive will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

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 shares were sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. This trade represents a 80.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,346 shares in the company, valued at $3,702,336.68. This trade represents a 9.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Fortive in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Fortive by 71.0% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 424 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.