Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) to Issue $1.50 Quarterly Dividend

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 14th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 1.50 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st.

Illinois Tool Works has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 55 consecutive years. Illinois Tool Works has a dividend payout ratio of 53.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Illinois Tool Works to earn $11.24 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.4%.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE ITW traded up $3.92 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $262.03. 817,587 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 974,406. Illinois Tool Works has a fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $257.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. Sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $271.00.

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.