Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Cut to Underperform at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI cut shares of Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) from an in-line rating to an underperform rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $255.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $246.00.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $270.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $79.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $260.09 and its 200-day moving average is $248.90. Illinois Tool Works has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $277.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

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 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 have recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.