Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $270.11.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $252.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $74.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $265.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.30.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The company’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. Research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ITW. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 11,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 62.6% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 12,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,126,000 after acquiring an additional 4,748 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by 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.