Barclays Cuts Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Price Target to $252.00

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price target reduced by Barclays from $260.00 to $252.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE ITW opened at $246.34 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.64. The company has a market capitalization of $72.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. Equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 31.1% in the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 10,983 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,605 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,125,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 998,459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $261,666,000 after acquiring an additional 39,445 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 25.7% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.