Essex Savings Bank Sells 54 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Essex Savings Bank lessened its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 54 shares during the quarter. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ITW. Nikulski Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.6% in the third quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $270.11.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $253.99 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $265.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 51.90%.

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.