Davis R M Inc. Cuts Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Davis R M Inc. lessened its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 2.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $276.37 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $262.63 and a 200 day moving average of $250.02. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $277.94. The company has a market cap of $81.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.90%.

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.