Virtu Financial LLC Invests $1.91 Million in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,911,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,364,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,171,006,000 after buying an additional 51,654 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,949,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $772,469,000 after purchasing an additional 119,921 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 133,853 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,001,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,232,000 after buying an additional 99,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 180,458 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $254.72 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $217.50 and a one year high of $271.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $245.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.10. 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 results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 issued a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ITW shares. 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Argus raised shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued 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, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.22.

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.