Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Cut to Underperform at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) from an in-line rating to an underperform rating in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $255.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $246.00.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus raised Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of ITW stock opened at $272.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Illinois Tool Works has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $277.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $258.46 and a 200 day moving average of $248.44. The stock has a market cap of $80.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,364,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,171,006,000 after purchasing an additional 51,654 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,347,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $877,234,000 after purchasing an additional 135,023 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,702,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $640,425,000 after buying an additional 62,645 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,527,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,998,000 after buying an additional 133,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,247,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,819,000 after purchasing an additional 9,563 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.