Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW – Get Rating) earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts who currently cover the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five gave the company a hold recommendation and three gave the company a buy recommendation. The 12-month average price target among analysts who updated their stock coverage in the last year is $202.00.

Several brokerages recently commented on ITW. Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Illinois Tool Works from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a Wednesday, Aug. 3 research report. Stifel Nicolaus reduced his target price on Illinois Tool Works from $206.00 to $163.00 in a Monday, July 18 research report. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a target price of $188.00 for the stock. in a research report on Monday, August 15. They noted that the move was a review call. Credit Suisse Group raised its price target on Illinois Tool Works from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a Wednesday, Aug. 3 research report. Finally, Barclays cut its price target on Illinois Tool Works from $180.00 to $167.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a Friday, July 8 research report.

Institutional entries and exits

Hedge funds have recently changed their stakes in the company. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works stock during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lansing Street Advisors bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter worth about $34,000. DeDora Capital Inc. bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Intelligent Financial Strategies bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 468.8% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company worth $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors hold 79.68% of the company’s shares.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $188.89 on Friday. The company’s fifty-day moving average is $201.49 and its 200-day moving average is $200.51. Illinois Tool Works has a fifty-two week low of $173.52 and a fifty-two week high of $249.81. The company has a market capitalization of $58.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a growth price-earnings ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW – Get Rating) last reported quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 2. The industrial products company reported EPS of $2.37 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.16. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 75.41% and a net margin of 17.44%. The company posted revenue of $4.01 billion for the quarter, versus a consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. In the same period a year earlier, the company had earned earnings per share of $2.10. The company’s revenue increased 9.1% year over year. Sell-side analysts expect Illinois Tool Works to post year-to-date earnings of 9.08 per share.

Illinois Tool Works increases its dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 14. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 30 will receive a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works’ previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 29. This represents a dividend of $5.24 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Illinois Tool Works’ dividend payout ratio is currently 57.89%.

About Illinois Tool Works

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Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment worldwide. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; food equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; building products; and specialty products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks and other industrial uses.

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