Short Interest in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Increases By 13.9%

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,730,000 shares, an increase of 13.9% from the June 15th total of 5,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,080,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $253.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 781,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,168,455. Illinois Tool Works has a fifty-two week low of $217.50 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.82% and a net margin of 19.07%. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.19 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $238.82 per share, for a total transaction of $185,085.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at $29,018,062.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ITW. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 42,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,767,000 after acquiring an additional 5,989 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 1,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ITW. Citigroup increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $229.00 to $217.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.20.

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.