Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Stock Price

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $260.00 to $250.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price suggests a potential upside of 0.49% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on ITW. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised Illinois Tool Works from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $230.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Illinois Tool Works from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $268.50.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $1.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $248.79. 685,393 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 772,773. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $267.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $254.89. The company has a market cap of $73.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Illinois Tool Works

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

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.