Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Illinois Tool Works to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $255.22.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded up $1.76 during trading on Thursday, hitting $258.59. 21,267 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,077,661. The stock has a market cap of $76.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $249.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $247.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Illinois Tool Works has a 12-month low of $217.50 and a 12-month high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at about $65,747,000. AXA S.A. lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 242.3% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 341,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,888,000 after buying an additional 241,618 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 30.7% during the second quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 767,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $181,926,000 after buying an additional 180,458 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 475,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $124,666,000 after buying an additional 149,210 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,527,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,998,000 after acquiring an additional 133,853 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.