Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $257.00.

ITW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW opened at $251.71 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works has a 12-month low of $217.06 and a 12-month high of $271.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $260.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.30.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.01. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Security National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Company Profile

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products.