Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Stock Price

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $260.00 to $250.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 0.34% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on ITW. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised Illinois Tool Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI cut Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.50.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $250.86. 128,239 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 628,012. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $267.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.89. 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 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,277,127,000 after acquiring an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,347,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $877,234,000 after purchasing an additional 135,023 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,702,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $640,425,000 after buying an additional 62,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,849,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $484,685,000 after purchasing an additional 32,656 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.