Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 186 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 186 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ITW. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,747,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 380.7% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 261,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,521,000 after acquiring an additional 207,167 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 767,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $181,926,000 after purchasing an additional 180,458 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 475,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $124,666,000 after purchasing an additional 149,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $361,998,000 after purchasing an additional 133,853 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ITW shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.22.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 2.0 %

ITW stock opened at $257.95 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.32. 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 $76.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

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

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.17%.

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.