Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Stock Price

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price objective cut by Barclays from $260.00 to $252.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 0.06% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ITW. StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW opened at $251.86 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $258.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.64. Illinois Tool Works has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $73.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,675,473,000 after buying an additional 94,601 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after purchasing an additional 508,188 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,277,127,000 after purchasing an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,620,491,000 after purchasing an additional 99,753 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,132,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,047,837,000 after buying an additional 71,934 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.