Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Price Target Lowered to $234.00 at UBS Group

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its target price lowered by analysts at UBS Group from $269.00 to $234.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.12% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $265.18.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock traded down $2.97 during trading on Monday, hitting $222.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,335,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 988,885. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. Illinois Tool Works has a one year low of $212.88 and a one year high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $256.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.49.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,675,473,000 after buying an additional 94,601 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 worth $3,465,570,000 after acquiring an additional 508,188 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,620,491,000 after acquiring an additional 99,753 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,132,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,047,837,000 after purchasing an additional 71,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,071,000 after purchasing an additional 95,925 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.