Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ITW. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $229.00 to $217.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $254.00.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $235.99 on Monday. Illinois Tool Works has a 1-year low of $217.50 and a 1-year high of $271.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $242.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. The company has a market cap of $70.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 97.82%. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 775 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $238.82 per share, for a total transaction of $185,085.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,018,062.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Illinois Tool Works

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $4,180,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 213,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,821,000 after acquiring an additional 12,065 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 23.4% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 6,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ziegler Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $224,000. 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.