Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Lowers Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP decreased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,465 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. now owns 38,971 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,213,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 88,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,066,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 248,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,095,000 after acquiring an additional 12,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebrook Private Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.3% in the third quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 18,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,863,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus upgraded Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $276.37 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $277.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $262.63 and its 200 day moving average is $250.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS 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 company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.55 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.