Bank of New Hampshire Sells 254 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Bank of New Hampshire lessened its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 254 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.4 %

ITW stock traded up $0.92 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $251.28. 78,166 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 615,808. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $267.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.89. The stock has a market cap of $74.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. 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 net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ITW shares. StockNews.com upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $268.50.

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.