Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 167 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ITW. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $818,408,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 629,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,927,000 after buying an additional 346,919 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at about $65,747,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 380.7% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 261,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,521,000 after buying an additional 207,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 767,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $181,926,000 after purchasing an additional 180,458 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $248.20 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $244.16 and a 200-day moving average of $248.55. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $217.50 and a one year high of $271.15. The stock has a market cap of $73.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $1.50 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 55.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on ITW shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report 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 for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.22.

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.