MCF Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

MCF Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 26,088.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 323,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $847,610,000 after purchasing an additional 322,192 shares during the period. AXA S.A. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 242.3% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 341,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,888,000 after buying an additional 241,618 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 30.7% in the second quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 767,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $181,926,000 after acquiring an additional 180,458 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,527,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,998,000 after acquiring an additional 133,853 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2,334.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 127,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,119,000 after acquiring an additional 121,928 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.44.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE ITW traded down $1.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $254.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 730,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,109. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.82 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $75.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.33.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.17%.

Illinois Tool Works 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.