Country Trust Bank Trims Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Country Trust Bank decreased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ITW. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.89.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $259.88 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.88.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

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.