Evercore ISI Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Stock Price

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.42.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $251.33 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $255.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. Illinois Tool Works has a fifty-two week low of $214.66 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,675,473,000 after acquiring an additional 94,601 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after purchasing an additional 508,188 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,620,491,000 after purchasing an additional 99,753 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,132,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,047,837,000 after buying an additional 71,934 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $873,071,000 after buying an additional 95,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

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.