Short Interest in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Decreases By 5.7%

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,120,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 7,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $249.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $260.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.66. Illinois Tool Works has a 52 week low of $217.06 and a 52 week high of $271.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,205,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,035,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,239 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,829,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,954,691,000 after purchasing an additional 244,145 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 106,553.0% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,185,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,582,902,000 after buying an additional 7,178,474 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,899,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,578,299,000 after buying an additional 97,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 12.1% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,611,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,363,875,000 after acquiring an additional 607,321 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ITW shares. Bank of America cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.00.

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.