J P Morgan Chase & Co Downgrades Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) to Underweight

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) was downgraded by research analysts at J P Morgan Chase & Co from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday. They currently have a $132.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $141.00. J P Morgan Chase & Co’s price objective points to a potential downside of 2.71% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $136.00) on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Citigroup Inc. upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $143.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. Barclays PLC upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $147.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.08.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) opened at 135.67 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $142.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.77. The company has a market capitalization of $46.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works has a 52 week low of $111.50 and a 52 week high of $150.29.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 46.57%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post $6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 52,447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $7,375,097.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,475,397.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 36,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.00, for a total transaction of $5,251,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 55,878 shares in the company, valued at $8,046,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,664 shares of company stock worth $14,329,625 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Elkhorn Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth approximately $1,284,000. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 10.3% in the first quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% in the first quarter. Beacon Trust Co. now owns 76,593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,111,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. AXA increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 22.5% in the first quarter. AXA now owns 307,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,780,000 after buying an additional 56,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft MBH bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth approximately $6,750,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc is a manufacturer of industrial products and equipment. The Company operates through seven segments. The Automotive OEM segment produces components and fasteners for automotive-related applications. The Food Equipment segment offers commercial food equipment. The Test & Measurement and Electronics segment produces test and measurement, and electronic manufacturing and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) solutions.