UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Stock Price

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price objective cut by UBS Group from $269.00 to $234.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 7.67% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on ITW. Barclays cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.18.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW opened at $217.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company has a market cap of $63.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $254.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.67. Illinois Tool Works has a 12-month low of $214.66 and a 12-month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. Research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth about $806,291,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,123,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057,872 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $229,269,000 after acquiring an additional 655,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.