First Horizon Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 513 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PEAK6 Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth approximately $1,179,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 144,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,999,000 after buying an additional 9,825 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,727,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 175,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,686,000 after buying an additional 12,804 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.5 %

ITW stock opened at $273.94 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $277.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $262.20 and a 200-day moving average of $249.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current 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 issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.30.

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.