Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ITW. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $305.00 to $283.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $244.00 to $230.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $229.00 to $217.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $251.20.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock opened at $245.89 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $241.39 and a 200-day moving average of $252.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works has a 12 month low of $217.50 and a 12 month high of $271.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 97.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $238.82 per share, with a total value of $185,085.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at $29,018,062.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Oak Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.7% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 6,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,559,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 364.6% in the second quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 177.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 7,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 4,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,192,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently 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.