Zullo Investment Group Inc. Sells 73 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Zullo Investment Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,008 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $264.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $77.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $257.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.19%.

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.