Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Shares Gap Down to $80.70

Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $80.70, but opened at $74.65. Fortive shares last traded at $77.70, with a volume of 1,361,319 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on FTV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Fortive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.54.

Fortive Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.13. The company has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The technology company reported $0.98 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Fortive’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Essex Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Fortive in the first quarter worth about $203,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Fortive by 1.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 42,497 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,656,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 39.5% in the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,677 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive in the first quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Fortive by 22.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 16,817 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by 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.