Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,485 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $9,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nikulski Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.6% in the third quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $255.77 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $259.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $271.00.

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.