Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Stock Holdings Boosted by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ITW shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI cut Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Argus raised shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 1.1 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $269.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $232.77 and a 12 month high of $277.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.61. The stock has a market cap of $79.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 51.90%.

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.