Rockland Trust Co. Reduces Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Rockland Trust Co. reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,195 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Steele Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% during the second quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. now owns 863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Carson Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% during the first quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 1,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% during the first quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,596,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of 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 research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.22.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW traded down $1.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $258.41. 624,279 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,093,373. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $217.50 and a one year high of $271.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. 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 yield of 2.32%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 59.17%.

Illinois Tool Works 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.