Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,250,000 shares, a decrease of 6.7% from the September 30th total of 6,700,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 837,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter worth about $202,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $621,000. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 10.6% during the third quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dudley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at approximately $210,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ITW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.90.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $262.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 52,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,106. Illinois Tool Works has a 12 month low of $225.88 and a 12 month high of $271.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $255.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $77.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.90%.

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.