StockNews.com Lowers Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded Illinois Tool Works to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $255.22.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $260.59 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $250.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.50. The firm has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10. 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 has a 52-week low of $217.50 and a 52-week high of $271.15.

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

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 58.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. PEAK6 Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 17.5% during the first quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,147,000. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,889.1% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 26,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,103,000 after purchasing an additional 25,144 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 78.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 36,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,907,000 after buying an additional 16,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 144,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,999,000 after buying an additional 9,825 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.