ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Increases Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 137,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,115,000 after buying an additional 1,080 shares during the period. InvesTrust bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $6,102,000. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 168.3% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 4,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after acquiring an additional 2,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 1.1 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $245.01 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $254.87. The company has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.55 EPS. Analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 51.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $271.67.

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.