Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Has $898,000 Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 28.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,355 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ITW. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,364,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,171,006,000 after buying an additional 51,654 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,702,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $640,425,000 after purchasing an additional 62,645 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,527,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,998,000 after purchasing an additional 133,853 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 802,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,447,000 after purchasing an additional 35,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 742,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $176,047,000 after purchasing an additional 50,753 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock traded down $1.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $256.89. 213,096 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,063,840. 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 has a market capitalization of $76.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.50 and a 52-week high of $271.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $252.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.31.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 59.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ITW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective 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. Finally, Argus upgraded Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.44.

Illinois Tool Works 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.