William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. Makes New $707,000 Investment in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $707,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Security National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on ITW shares. Argus raised shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.22.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW opened at $263.97 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company has a market cap of $78.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.50 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $247.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.06.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.41 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.17%.

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.