Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. cut its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Illinois Tool Works accounts for 1.1% of Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $256.40.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW traded down $1.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $273.85. 41,241 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,057,914. The company has a market cap of $80.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.66 and a 1 year high of $277.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.80.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.