Decatur Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Decatur Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ITW. PEAK6 Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 17.5% during the first quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,147,000. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,889.1% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 26,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,103,000 after purchasing an additional 25,144 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 78.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 36,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,907,000 after buying an additional 16,216 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 28.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 201,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,122,000 after buying an additional 44,898 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. Truist Financial cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.22.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $258.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $246.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.08. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.50 and a 1-year high of $271.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.23%.

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.