Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Price Target to $244.00

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $255.00 to $244.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and decreased their price target for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $257.78.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $243.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.73. Illinois Tool Works has a 12 month low of $217.06 and a 12 month high of $271.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.82% and a net margin of 19.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.35 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,056.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,471 shares of company stock worth $35,970,816 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Vicus Capital bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at about $270,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 48,749 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,227,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $286,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

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.