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

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $250.22.

ITW has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.3 %

ITW stock opened at $249.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Illinois Tool Works has a 1-year low of $217.50 and a 1-year high of $271.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $241.64 and its 200-day moving average is $249.17.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.41 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 59.17%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 775 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $238.82 per share, for a total transaction of $185,085.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,018,062.92. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Security National Bank acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 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.