SRN Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

SRN Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 154 shares during the quarter. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 51,654 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% in the 2nd 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 period. Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.6% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 802,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,447,000 after buying an additional 35,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 742,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,047,000 after buying an additional 50,753 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.44.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $254.08 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $221.82 and a twelve month high of $271.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $254.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.23. The firm has a market cap of $75.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10.

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 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 business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 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.