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

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $268.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised Illinois Tool Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI lowered Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $259.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $267.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 340,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,111,000 after buying an additional 16,846 shares in the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 5.3% during the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 3,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 184,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,297,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 128.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 23,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,084,000 after purchasing an additional 13,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

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.