Howard Financial Services LTD. Makes New Investment in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Howard Financial Services LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after buying an additional 398,676 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 26,088.4% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,352,000 after acquiring an additional 308,935 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 242.3% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 341,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,888,000 after purchasing an additional 241,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third 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 during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.2 %

ITW opened at $256.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.29. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The stock has a market cap of $75.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ITW. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $270.11.

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.