Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Fortive (NYSE:FTV) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $90.00 target price on the technology company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $95.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a buy rating and a $99.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of Fortive from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $86.54.

Fortive Price Performance

NYSE FTV opened at $79.49 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.93 billion, a PE ratio of 32.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $84.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.02. Fortive has a 12-month low of $62.70 and a 12-month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results 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. 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortive will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total value of $3,523,416.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 61,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,336,849.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total value of $739,036.98. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,689,743.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 63,937 shares of company stock valued at $5,475,122 in the last 90 days. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 165,769 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,293,000 after purchasing an additional 4,660 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Fortive by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,199 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,828,000 after buying an additional 134,259 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Fortive by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 832,888 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $61,326,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Fortive by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 302,334 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,096,000 after buying an additional 53,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in Fortive by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 4,816 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.