Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Receives $253.42 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $253.42.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ITW shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $302.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of ITW stock traded down $2.68 on Friday, reaching $242.03. 752,546 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,017,704. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $241.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $254.78. Illinois Tool Works has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13. 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 has a market capitalization of $70.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. The business's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clarity Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth about $315,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $941,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $739,000. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,096,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,718 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

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.