Brokerages Set Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Price Target at $257.30

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $261.30.

ITW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $230.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ITW. Nikulski Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% in the second quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. now owns 863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $957,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $275.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $81.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $265.76 and its 200-day moving average is $251.50.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.90%.

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.