Erste Asset Management GmbH Takes $2.43 Million Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,433,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,179,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 11.8% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 36,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,680,000 after buying an additional 3,903 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake 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 valued at $37,999,000 after buying an additional 9,825 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,727,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 175,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,686,000 after acquiring an additional 12,804 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ITW. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW opened at $278.50 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $264.35 and a 200 day moving average of $250.78. The stock has a market cap of $82.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 4.30 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13.

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

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.