Van ECK Associates Corp Has $14.20 Million Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $14,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Nikulski Financial Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 3.6% during the third quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% during the third quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI cut Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $271.00.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $257.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $76.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.65. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

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.