First City Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

First City Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 850 shares during the quarter. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter valued at about $65,747,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 380.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 261,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,521,000 after purchasing an additional 207,167 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 767,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $181,926,000 after buying an additional 180,458 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 475,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,666,000 after buying an additional 149,210 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,527,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $361,998,000 after acquiring an additional 133,853 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of ITW stock opened at $254.32 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $246.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.22. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $217.50 and a one year high of $271.15. The company has a market capitalization of $75.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.22.

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.