Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Lowered to Underperform Rating by Bank of America

Bank of America cut shares of Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $220.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.67.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.3 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $242.40 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $243.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $255.87. The company has a market cap of $71.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Illinois Tool Works has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.77%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $806,291,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,123,080,000 after buying an additional 2,057,872 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 55,978.4% in the 1st quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,430,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $354,654,000 after buying an additional 1,427,450 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,949,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $229,269,000 after buying an additional 655,341 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.