Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Lowers Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC decreased its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,018 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $6,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ITW. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,088.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 323,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $847,610,000 after buying an additional 322,192 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,352,000 after buying an additional 308,935 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 242.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 341,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,888,000 after acquiring an additional 241,618 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,645,972,000 after acquiring an additional 167,422 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW opened at $247.66 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $266.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.00.

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.