Royal Bank Of Canada Lowers Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Price Target to $56.00

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank Of Canada from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the technology company’s stock.

FTV has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Fortive from $86.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Fortive from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $85.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fortive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.86.

Fortive Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of FTV stock opened at $47.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $16.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.78. Fortive has a 1-year low of $47.83 and a 1-year high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Fortive had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 13.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fortive will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 27th that permits the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 428,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Fortive during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 114.2% during the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Fortive

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.