Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,355 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,364,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,171,006,000 after buying an additional 51,654 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,702,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $640,425,000 after buying an additional 62,645 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,527,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,998,000 after buying an additional 133,853 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 802,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,447,000 after buying an additional 35,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 742,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $176,047,000 after buying an additional 50,753 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ITW shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Argus upgraded Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.44.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ITW traded down $1.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $256.89. 213,096 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,063,840. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.50 and a 1 year high of $271.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $252.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.31.

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

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. This is a boost 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 presently 59.17%.

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.