Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $271.00.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wick Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $291,000. Breed s Hill Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 103.3% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $262.03 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The company has a market cap of $77.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $257.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $257.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. On average, equities analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

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.