Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Stock Price

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $252.00 to $240.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $264.09.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 2.5 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $232.40 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works has a one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $279.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $252.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $258.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $68.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. On average, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 336.0% in the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Company Profile

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.