Bleakley Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PEAK6 Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 17.5% during the first quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth approximately $1,147,000. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,889.1% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 26,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,103,000 after acquiring an additional 25,144 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 78.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 36,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,907,000 after acquiring an additional 16,216 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 144,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,999,000 after acquiring an additional 9,825 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $261.03 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $252.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.45. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.50 and a 12-month high of $271.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ITW. Argus raised shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays cut 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.44.

Illinois Tool Works Profile

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.