City Holding Co. Trims Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

City Holding Co. lessened its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth approximately $65,747,000. AXA S.A. grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 242.3% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 341,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,888,000 after purchasing an additional 241,618 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 30.7% in the second quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 767,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $181,926,000 after purchasing an additional 180,458 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 475,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,666,000 after purchasing an additional 149,210 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,527,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $361,998,000 after buying an additional 133,853 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $251.78.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $255.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $76.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $217.50 and a one year high of $271.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $249.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.30.

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

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.17%.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.