Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Stock Price

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price objective increased by analysts at Citigroup from $266.00 to $279.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.80% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays raised Illinois Tool Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $267.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $274.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 341,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,039,227. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $265.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $251.70. The company has a market capitalization of $80.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Illinois Tool Works has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 26,088.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 323,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $847,610,000 after acquiring an additional 322,192 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,352,000 after acquiring an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 242.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 341,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,888,000 after purchasing an additional 241,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.