Fiduciary Trust Co Sells 2,779 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Fiduciary Trust Co cut its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,779 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $22,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter valued at about $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 bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI downgraded 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Argus upgraded Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.2 %

ITW stock opened at $276.01 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $263.53 and a 200 day moving average of $250.39. The firm has a market cap of $81.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.90%.

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.