Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Short Interest Up 10.0% in September

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,700,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the September 15th total of 6,090,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 896,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Argus raised Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,364,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,171,006,000 after buying an additional 51,654 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,702,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $640,425,000 after purchasing an additional 62,645 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,527,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,998,000 after purchasing an additional 133,853 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.6% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 802,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,447,000 after purchasing an additional 35,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 742,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,047,000 after purchasing an additional 50,753 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock traded up $2.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $263.95. 194,607 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,073,619. Illinois Tool Works has a fifty-two week low of $217.50 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15. The firm has a market cap of $78.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $250.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.46.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 59.17%.

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.