Evercore ISI Cuts Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Price Target to $252.00

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price target decreased by Evercore ISI from $255.00 to $252.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an underperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

ITW has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW opened at $264.30 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.41 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ITW. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $806,291,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $229,269,000 after purchasing an additional 655,341 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after purchasing an additional 508,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,209,000 after acquiring an additional 437,397 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.