Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 516,251 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $73,762,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ITT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,503,000. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of ITT by 101.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 18,034 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,696,000 after purchasing an additional 9,070 shares in the last quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of ITT by 268.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 27,830 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,161,000 after purchasing an additional 20,270 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of ITT by 63.8% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 17,004 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 6,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of ITT by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 70,366 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,054,000 after purchasing an additional 18,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

ITT Trading Up 1.0 %

ITT stock opened at $138.82 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.42. ITT Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.01 and a 12-month high of $161.13.

ITT (NYSE:ITT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The conglomerate reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.02. ITT had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ITT Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ITT Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.351 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from ITT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. ITT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of ITT from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of ITT from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of ITT from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of ITT from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of ITT in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ITT has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.38.

ITT Company Profile

ITT Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for the transportation, industrial, and energy markets in the United States and internationally. The Motion Technologies segment manufactures brake pads, shims, shock absorbers, and energy absorption components; and sealing technologies primarily for the transportation industry, including passenger cars, trucks, light- and heavy-duty commercial and military vehicles, buses, and trains.