Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC reduced its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,564 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,364,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,171,006,000 after buying an additional 51,654 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,702,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $640,425,000 after purchasing an additional 62,645 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,527,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,998,000 after purchasing an additional 133,853 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.6% during the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 802,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,447,000 after purchasing an additional 35,145 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 742,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,047,000 after purchasing an additional 50,753 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.44.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $257.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $253.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.50 and a 52 week high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.41 earnings per share. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 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.