Prio Wealth Limited Partnership Cuts Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Prio Wealth Limited Partnership reduced its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,352 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,404 shares during the period. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $14,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ITW. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 37,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,724,000 after buying an additional 2,725 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 3,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 22,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 166,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,547,000 after purchasing an additional 5,477 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ITW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.22.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock opened at $261.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.50 and a 52-week high of $271.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $248.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.00.

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

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 59.17%.

Illinois Tool Works 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.