Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Given New $249.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price target trimmed by Evercore ISI from $252.00 to $249.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ITW. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.42.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $251.66 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $241.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.46. Illinois Tool Works has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $73.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 52.77%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Illinois Tool Works

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ITW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $806,291,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,123,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057,872 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 55,978.4% during the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,430,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $354,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,450 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter valued at $293,928,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $203,949,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.