Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Price Target Lowered to $250.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $260.00 to $250.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ITW. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.50.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $248.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $254.95.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ITW. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,277,127,000 after acquiring an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,347,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $877,234,000 after purchasing an additional 135,023 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,702,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $640,425,000 after purchasing an additional 62,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,849,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,685,000 after buying an additional 32,656 shares in the last quarter. 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.