Atomi Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $270.11.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $261.31 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $263.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted 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. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 51.90%.

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.