Short Interest in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Declines By 5.7%

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of 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. Based on an average trading volume of 1,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $9,851,485.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Aspect Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $253.88 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $260.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $75.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 57.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.