Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Price Target Lowered to $253.00 at Citigroup

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price target dropped by analysts at Citigroup from $265.00 to $253.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.38% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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, February 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $260.09.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded up $1.12 on Monday, reaching $233.44. 1,129,319 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,007,230. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $252.30 and a 200-day moving average of $258.93. Illinois Tool Works has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $68.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. Equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Illinois Tool Works

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 776,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $203,619,000 after purchasing an additional 12,988 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth about $759,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 128.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 23,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,084,000 after acquiring an additional 13,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the third 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 during 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.