Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 340,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,846 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $89,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus raised shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.40.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $271.95 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market cap of $80.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.66 and a twelve month high of $277.58.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. 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 2.21%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio 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.