Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Stake Increased by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $1,729,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,774,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $843,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Lynch & Associates IN increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 16,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW stock opened at $249.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $255.18. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $270.11.

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.