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

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $250.22.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 629,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,927,000 after acquiring an additional 346,919 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter valued at $65,747,000. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 242.3% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 341,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,888,000 after buying an additional 241,618 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 380.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 261,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,521,000 after buying an additional 207,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 767,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $181,926,000 after buying an additional 180,458 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ITW opened at $255.13 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works has a fifty-two week low of $217.50 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15. The firm has a market cap of $76.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $244.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 59.17%.

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.