Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

ITW has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI downgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.89.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $259.83 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $263.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $256.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a market capitalization of $76.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released 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. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pensionfund Sabic grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after acquiring an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,729,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,774,000 after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth $1,179,000. 79.77% of the stock is 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.