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

Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $255.22.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus upgraded Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.5 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $260.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company has a market capitalization of $77.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $249.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.81. Illinois Tool Works has a twelve month low of $217.50 and a twelve month high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.82%.

Institutional Trading of Illinois Tool Works

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ITW. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,364,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,171,006,000 after acquiring an additional 51,654 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,949,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $772,469,000 after purchasing an additional 119,921 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,702,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $640,425,000 after purchasing an additional 62,645 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,527,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $361,998,000 after buying an additional 133,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 802,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,447,000 after buying an additional 35,145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

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.