Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Raises Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE ITW opened at $260.83 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.50 and a 12-month high of $271.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market cap of $77.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.41 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.44.

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.