Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The technology company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04, reports. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 14.68%.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE FTV opened at $75.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.13. Fortive has a 12-month low of $62.77 and a 12-month high of $87.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.13.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Fortive’s payout ratio is 12.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value of $787,669.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 36,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,162,267. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value of $787,669.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 36,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,162,267. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total value of $739,036.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,689,743.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 63,937 shares of company stock worth $5,475,122. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,724 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Fortive by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,249 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Fortive by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,580 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,618 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays increased their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Vertical Research downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Fortive from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.46.

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.