JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades Fortive (NYSE:FTV) to Neutral

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $90.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $95.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.00% from the stock’s current price.

FTV has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Vertical Research lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.54.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $80.36. 1,190,323 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,599,589. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.00, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.05. Fortive has a one year low of $62.70 and a one year high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The technology company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 14.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Fortive’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fortive will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total transaction of $787,669.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 36,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,162,267. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,336,849.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total transaction of $787,669.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,162,267. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 63,937 shares of company stock worth $5,475,122. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in Fortive during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Fortive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 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.