Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Stock Price

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its target price decreased by Barclays from $270.00 to $265.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ITW. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $271.67.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $245.01 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $265.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $254.87. 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 fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $843,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Lynch & Associates IN lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 16,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 8,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 137,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.