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 published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $90.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $95.00.

FTV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a buy rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortive from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortive has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $86.54.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE:FTV opened at $79.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $27.93 billion, a PE ratio of 32.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. Fortive has a 1-year low of $62.70 and a 1-year high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Fortive’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Fortive will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $425,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,676,445. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total value of $739,036.98. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,689,743.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,017 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,445. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,937 shares of company stock valued at $5,475,122 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 27,751 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,216,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the 1st quarter worth about $233,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Fortive by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 8,375 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at about $756,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Fortive by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 841,041 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,346,000 after purchasing an additional 4,669 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by 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.