Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

ITW has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $229.00 to $217.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.00.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $235.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $70.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $243.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.66. Illinois Tool Works has a 52 week low of $217.50 and a 52 week high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 97.82%. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $238.82 per share, with a total value of $185,085.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 121,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,018,062.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Security National Bank acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.