Evercore ISI Cuts Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Price Target to $249.00

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from $252.00 to $249.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 0.93% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.42.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of ITW opened at $251.33 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $73.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $241.76 and a 200 day moving average of $255.54. Illinois Tool Works has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other 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.