Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,700,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the September 15th total of 6,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 896,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.44.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW stock traded down $0.52 on Wednesday, hitting $260.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 682,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,074,337. The stock has a market cap of $77.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $251.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Illinois Tool Works has a 1 year low of $217.50 and a 1 year high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 59.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,525 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 129.8% during the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 4,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 2,405 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 93.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% in the third quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,562,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 5,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.