Raymond James Financial Cuts Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Price Target to $65.00

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) had its price target trimmed by Raymond James Financial from $90.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on FTV. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Fortive from $72.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.08.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $53.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.19 and its 200-day moving average is $73.08. Fortive has a twelve month low of $50.00 and a twelve month high of $83.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 12.90%. Fortive’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fortive will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,630,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 114.2% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 377 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

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.