Holderness Investments Co. Trims Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Holderness Investments Co. lowered its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 167.1% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ITW shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $283.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $259.33.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 2.6%

ITW opened at $267.26 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $253.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.16.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 90.89% and a net margin of 21.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 56.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $241.16 per share, with a total value of $210,291.52. Following the transaction, the director owned 122,884 shares in the company, valued at $29,634,705.44. The trade was a 0.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.