Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Price Target Raised to $233.00

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $227.00 to $233.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential downside of 3.82% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $256.73.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.3 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $242.26 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.50. Illinois Tool Works has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $71.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $806,291,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,123,080,000 after buying an additional 2,057,872 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $229,269,000 after buying an additional 655,341 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after purchasing an additional 508,188 shares during 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.