Welch Group LLC Takes Position in ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT)

Welch Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,512 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in ITT by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,414,867 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,123,533,000 after buying an additional 29,057 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ITT by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,463,809 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,009,902,000 after purchasing an additional 65,173 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of ITT by 1.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,354,082 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $132,581,000 after purchasing an additional 14,857 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of ITT in the fourth quarter worth approximately $102,709,000. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI lifted its position in shares of ITT by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 742,571 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $88,604,000 after purchasing an additional 27,210 shares in the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ITT Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ITT stock opened at $129.92 on Friday. ITT Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.92 and a 12 month high of $140.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $131.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.99. The company has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.44.

ITT (NYSE:ITT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The conglomerate reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $910.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $883.21 million. ITT had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 12.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that ITT Inc. will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

ITT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.319 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. ITT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of ITT from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of ITT from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of ITT from $139.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of ITT from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of ITT from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.38.

ITT Profile

ITT Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for the transportation, industrial, and energy markets in the United States and internationally. The Motion Technologies segment manufactures brake pads, shims, shock absorbers, and energy absorption components; and sealing technologies primarily for the transportation industry, including passenger cars, trucks, light- and heavy-duty commercial and military vehicles, buses, and trains.