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

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) was downgraded by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $90.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $95.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.00% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Fortive from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.54.

Fortive Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:FTV traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $80.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,190,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,599,589. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $28.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.92. Fortive has a twelve month low of $62.70 and a twelve month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The technology company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Fortive will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $425,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,676,445. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $425,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,676,445. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,336,849.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,937 shares of company stock valued at $5,475,122 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Fortive during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Fortive during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Fortive during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

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.