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

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $268.30.

Several research firms have weighed in on ITW. Citigroup cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $225.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works has a fifty-two week low of $224.94 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $256.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.40.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,675,473,000 after buying an additional 94,601 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after acquiring an additional 508,188 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,277,127,000 after acquiring an additional 149,272 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,620,491,000 after acquiring an additional 99,753 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,132,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,047,837,000 after purchasing an additional 71,934 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.