Guinness Asset Management LTD Has $214.27 Million Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 844,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 42,040 shares during the quarter. Illinois Tool Works comprises 4.0% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $214,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 26,088.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 323,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $847,610,000 after acquiring an additional 322,192 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,352,000 after purchasing an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 242.3% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 341,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,888,000 after purchasing an additional 241,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ITW. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $270.11.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $256.50 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $75.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $264.26 and a 200-day moving average of $255.59. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.90%.

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.