World Investment Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at $1,179,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 36,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,680,000 after purchasing an additional 3,903 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 144,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,999,000 after buying an additional 9,825 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 787.3% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 186,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,945,000 after buying an additional 165,607 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ITW shares. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lowered Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $230.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have issued 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 an average target price of $267.90.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $272.06 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $267.20 and a 200 day moving average of $252.68.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.90%.

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.