Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Holdings Raised by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ITW. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,088.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 323,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $847,610,000 after buying an additional 322,192 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 242.3% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 341,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,888,000 after acquiring an additional 241,618 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 30.7% in the second quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 767,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $181,926,000 after acquiring an additional 180,458 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 133,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2,334.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 127,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,119,000 after purchasing an additional 121,928 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.90.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $263.10. The company had a trading volume of 255,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,090. The company has a 50 day moving average of $254.96 and a 200-day moving average of $247.27. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.82 and a 52 week high of $271.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The firm has a market cap of $78.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.82%.

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.