Short Interest in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Declines By 5.7%

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,120,000 shares, a decline of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 7,550,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.83, for a total value of $12,741,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,321,252.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Illinois Tool Works news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.83, for a total transaction of $12,741,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at $56,321,252.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316 over the last three months. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $253.88 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works has a twelve month low of $217.06 and a twelve month high of $271.15. The company has a market cap of $75.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 96.60% and a net margin of 18.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 57.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $238.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.78.

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.