Harfst & Associates Inc. Acquires Shares of 764 Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Harfst & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ITW. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,744,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 25,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,756,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestmont Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $261.03. 699,672 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,070,550. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $252.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 4.10 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 one year low of $217.50 and a one year high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 59.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus raised Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.44.

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.