Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Acquired by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $8,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $309,000. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 538.3% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 3,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939 shares during the period. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $254.72 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $248.22. The stock has a market cap of $76.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.50 and a 12-month high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.41 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ITW shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.22.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.