Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 4,461 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 235,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,461 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $59,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nikulski Financial Inc. grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.6% during the third quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays upgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $230.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.50.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:ITW traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $252.22. 121,164 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,032,140. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $254.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.