Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Stock Rated “Reduce” by Wall Street Brokerages

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $276.33.

ITW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Friday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $317.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $278.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $287.00 to $281.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CAO Matteo C. Pigozzo sold 277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.22, for a total value of $80,113.94. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,612.68. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Santi sold 41,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.09, for a total value of $11,894,425.79. Following the sale, the director directly owned 266,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,448,621.92. This represents a 13.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,296,349,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,788,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,479,219,000 after purchasing an additional 128,089 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,005,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $782,343,000 after purchasing an additional 72,951 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $603,166,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,045,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $532,261,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $285.64 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $271.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.27. Illinois Tool Works has a fifty-two week low of $238.82 and a fifty-two week high of $303.15. The company has a market cap of $81.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 103.35% and a net margin of 19.39%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 11.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.72 per share. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 61.32%.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc (NYSE: ITW) is a diversified industrial manufacturer that develops and produces specialized equipment, components, consumables and systems for customers in a range of industries. Founded in 1912 and headquartered in Glenview, Illinois, the company serves markets worldwide through a portfolio of highly engineered businesses.

ITW’s operations include food equipment, automotive components, welding products, test and measurement equipment, electronics materials, polymers and fluids, construction products, and specialty products.