CWS Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ITW. Evercore ISI cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $276.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $81.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $232.77 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.57.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. 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.