Brighton Jones LLC Increases Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 8.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,364,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,171,006,000 after buying an additional 51,654 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,949,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $772,469,000 after buying an additional 119,921 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in 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 worth $361,998,000 after buying an additional 133,853 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,001,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,232,000 after buying an additional 99,175 shares during the period. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 30.7% during the second 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $254.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $246.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.29. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.50 and a 1 year high of $271.15. The company has a market cap of $75.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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. Finally, Argus raised Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.22.

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.