Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $3.98 Million Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PEAK6 Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 17.5% during the first quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth about $1,147,000. Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1,889.1% during the first 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 last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted 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 worth $9,907,000 after purchasing an additional 16,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 144,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,999,000 after purchasing an additional 9,825 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $254.08 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $254.08 and its 200-day moving average is $247.23. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.82 and a 12-month high of $271.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The firm has a market cap of $75.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.44.

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.