Montecito Bank & Trust Grows Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,832 shares during the quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jackson Square Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 93.9% during the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 3,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.7% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% during the third quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 3,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter worth $4,298,000. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $256.40.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $275.47 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.66 and a 52-week high of $277.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.80. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $81.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.