Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,120,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 7,550,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $238.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.78.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded down $2.62 on Wednesday, reaching $251.21. 1,032,092 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 974,717. The company’s 50 day moving average is $260.84 and its 200-day moving average is $250.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works has a fifty-two week low of $217.06 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 57.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,505,185.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.83, for a total value of $12,741,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,321,252.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316 over the last quarter. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $4,180,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 6,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth about $224,000. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 135,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,506,000 after buying an additional 10,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth about $1,770,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.