Quent Capital LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Quent Capital LLC lowered its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 17.5% during the first quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth approximately $1,147,000. Norden Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,889.1% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 26,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,103,000 after purchasing an additional 25,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 213,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,821,000 after purchasing an additional 12,065 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $238.82 per share, with a total value of $185,085.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at $29,018,062.92. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.75.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $238.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,047,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,176,852. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.50 and a 1-year high of $271.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $240.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.95.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.23%.

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.