Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ITW. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $270.11.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE ITW opened at $253.99 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $265.34 and a 200 day moving average of $255.30. The company has a market capitalization of $75.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Illinois Tool Works has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,876,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,179,000. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,729,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 11.8% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 36,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,680,000 after buying an additional 3,903 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.