Montecito Bank & Trust Boosts Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Montecito Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 41.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ITW. PEAK6 Investments LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 17.5% during the first quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter valued at about $1,147,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 78.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 36,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,907,000 after buying an additional 16,216 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 144,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,999,000 after acquiring an additional 9,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 201,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,122,000 after acquiring an additional 44,898 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ITW. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.40.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 3.4 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $275.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $256.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.80. The company has a market capitalization of $81.35 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.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 51.90%.

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.