Chicago Capital LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Chicago Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $7,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Steele Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $206,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $261.03 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $252.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.45. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.50 and a 12 month high of $271.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.89 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 note on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Argus raised Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.