Fortive (NYSE:FTV) Shares Up 8.8% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV) rose 8.8% on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $59.24 and last traded at $59.1470. Approximately 943,126 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 3,383,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.35.

The technology company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.07. Fortive had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Fortive has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.000 EPS.

Key Fortive News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on both EPS and revenue — Fortive reported $0.90 EPS vs. $0.83 expected and $1.12B revenue vs. $1.09B est.; management highlighted double‑digit profit growth and buybacks supporting earnings. Fortive Q4 Earnings & Sales Surpass Estimates, Increase Y/Y, Stock Up
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY2026 guidance — Fortive set EPS guidance of $2.90–$3.00, above consensus (~$2.84), signaling confidence in industrial automation demand and margin progress. Fortive forecasts upbeat annual profit on strong industrial automation business
• Positive Sentiment: Operational drivers: new product launches and cost actions materially contributed to outperformance in the quarter, improving margins and organic growth momentum. FTV Q4 Deep Dive: New Product Launches and Cost Actions Drive Outperformance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Wells Fargo raised its price target to $65 (equal‑weight), reflecting taxable upside and reinforcing the market’s re-rating after results. Benzinga note on Wells Fargo price target raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Full documentation available — earnings call transcript and slide deck published for investors who want detail on segment trends, buyback pace and capital allocation. Fortive Q4 results & presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Year‑over‑year EPS compression — Q4 EPS of $0.90 is lower than last year’s $1.17, a reminder that certain end markets and prior-year comparisons remain challenging despite sequential improvement. MarketBeat earnings summary and materials

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Fortive from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fortive from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 price objective on Fortive in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $265,000. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth about $643,000. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth about $210,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 6,824 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,332,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $54.78 and its 200-day moving average is $51.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

About Fortive

Fortive Corporation (NYSE: FTV) is a diversified industrial technology company headquartered in Everett, Washington. The company was created through a spin‑off from Danaher Corporation in 2016 and has since focused on building a portfolio of professional instrumentation and industrial technology businesses. In 2020 Fortive completed a further portfolio separation with the spin‑off of Vontier, concentrating Fortive’s activities on higher‑margin instrumentation, software and services.

Fortive’s operations center on professional test and measurement, sensing and monitoring, software‑enabled solutions, and lifecycle services that support industrial and commercial customers.