Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 16,846 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 340,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,846 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Illinois Tool Works worth $89,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $271.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $257.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.66 and a fifty-two week high of $277.58.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ITW. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Argus raised shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $256.40.

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.