Clark & Stuart Inc Takes Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 6,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,729,000. Illinois Tool Works comprises approximately 1.3% of Clark & Stuart Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $358,321,000 after acquiring an additional 398,676 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 26,088.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 323,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $847,610,000 after purchasing an additional 322,192 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,352,000 after buying an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 242.3% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 341,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,888,000 after buying an additional 241,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,645,972,000 after buying an additional 167,422 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $271.67.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ITW stock opened at $245.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $265.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $255.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was 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.