Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Stock

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $230.00 to $235.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 8.34% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ITW. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America cut Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.58.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $256.38 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works has a 12-month low of $214.66 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $244.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The firm has a market cap of $75.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 92.77%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 872 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $241.16 per share, with a total value of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 122,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. This trade represents a 0.71% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Illinois Tool Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. F M Investments LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% during the first quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 4,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% in the first quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.