Stifel Nicolaus Raises Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Price Target to $259.00

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price objective upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $258.00 to $259.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 3.74% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company 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 target for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial started coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Four equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.00.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $249.67. 543,182 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,243,937. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $260.84 and its 200 day moving average is $250.67. The stock has a market cap of $74.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.33. Illinois Tool Works has a 12 month low of $217.06 and a 12 month high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,505,185.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 106,553.0% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,185,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,582,902,000 after acquiring an additional 7,178,474 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $708,259,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,011,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,707,780 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $6,035,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,239 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $294,671,000 after acquiring an additional 675,000 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.