Toroso Investments LLC Decreases Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Toroso Investments LLC lowered its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 690 shares during the quarter. Toroso Investments LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 9,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,899,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 70.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ITW. Citigroup lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $256.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $213.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $237.18.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of ITW opened at $238.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $72.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.27 and a 1 year high of $264.19.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 94.14% and a net margin of 19.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.74 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 Thursday, October 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 55.39%.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment worldwide. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses.