Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 311 shares during the quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $358,321,000 after acquiring an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 26,088.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 323,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $847,610,000 after purchasing an additional 322,192 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $106,352,000 after buying an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,645,972,000 after buying an additional 167,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 787.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 186,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,945,000 after acquiring an additional 165,607 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $254.40 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $261.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $257.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. Equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITW has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $266.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.67.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.