Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Stock Rating Lowered by BNP Paribas

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) was downgraded by stock analysts at BNP Paribas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $67.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ target price suggests a potential upside of 6.99% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.33.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE:FTV opened at $62.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Fortive has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $84.69. The company has a market cap of $21.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.58.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortive will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total transaction of $237,308.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,349,585.65. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in Fortive by 197.0% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,264 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 10,125 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fortive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 406,085 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,052,000 after acquiring an additional 10,795 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Fortive by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,502 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,832,000 after purchasing an additional 7,829 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Fortive by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,289 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,292,000 after purchasing an additional 303,788 shares during the period. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $358,000. 94.94% of the stock is 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.