Raymond James & Associates Grows Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 542,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 26,664 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.18% of Illinois Tool Works worth $142,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% during the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 22.1% in the first quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,259,000. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 6.8% in the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $261.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.89 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.50 and a twelve month high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 59.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ITW. Argus raised shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.44.

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.