Verity & Verity LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Verity & Verity LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 307.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 25.8% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 12,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,022,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 30,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,172,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 26,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,285,000 after acquiring an additional 5,716 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,009,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ITW stock opened at $256.50 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $264.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $255.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lowered Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $270.11.

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.