Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Decreases Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,252 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $10,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Steele Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. now owns 863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 1,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,596,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus raised Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.22.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $238.82 per share, with a total value of $185,085.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,018,062.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $246.77 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $243.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.66. The company has a market capitalization of $73.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.30. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.50 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.23%.

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.