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

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,120,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 7,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW traded down $2.62 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $251.21. 1,032,092 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 974,717. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works has a 52-week low of $217.06 and a 52-week high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.01. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.29, for a total value of $1,493,401.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,273,292.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Illinois Tool Works news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.29, for a total transaction of $1,493,401.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,273,292.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 106,553.0% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,185,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,582,902,000 after purchasing an additional 7,178,474 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $708,259,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,591,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,011,459,000 after buying an additional 1,707,780 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,205,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,035,292,000 after buying an additional 1,238,239 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,125,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $294,671,000 after buying an additional 675,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $238.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.78.

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.