Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Position Cut by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,110 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI cut Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $277.82. 82,424 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,047,367. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $82.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.21. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.90%.

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.