Vontobel Holding Ltd. Raises Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $9,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ITW. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.44.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $260.65 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.50 and a 52-week high of $271.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $251.94 and a 200-day moving average of $247.59. The company has a market capitalization of $77.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued 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 return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.