IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 164 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 58,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $15,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Steele Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% in the second quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. now owns 863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% during the first quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 1,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.44.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $255.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.33. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $219.01 and a 12 month high of $271.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.17%.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.