Mechanics Bank Trust Department Reduces Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department decreased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 26,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,285,000 after acquiring an additional 5,716 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 35,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,071 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 71,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,843,000 after acquiring an additional 12,496 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 71.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,267,000 after acquiring an additional 14,564 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.2 %

ITW opened at $256.50 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $75.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $232.77 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $264.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $255.59.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI cut Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $270.11.

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.