Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortive (NYSE:FTV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on FTV. Citigroup lifted their price target on Fortive from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Fortive from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Fortive in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set an outperform rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered Fortive from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn reiterated a buy rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $78.46.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV opened at $67.68 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.22. Fortive has a one year low of $62.70 and a one year high of $79.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.05 and a beta of 1.15.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.01). Fortive had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 13.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Fortive will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 24th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. This is a positive change from Fortive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 13.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Fortive by 12,739.3% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,427 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $843,000 after buying an additional 11,338 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fortive by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Fortive by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,690,395 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $183,404,000 after buying an additional 39,664 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fortive by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 21,164 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the 2nd quarter worth about $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.95% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Company Profile

Fortive Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services professional and engineered products, software, and services worldwide. Intelligent Operating Solutions segment provides advanced instrumentation, software and services, which includes electrical test and measurement, facility and asset lifecycle software applications, and worker safety and compliance solutions for manufacturing, process industries, healthcare, utilities and power, communications and electronics, and other industries.