Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Stake Reduced by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 235,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,461 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.08% of Illinois Tool Works worth $59,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 13,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,115,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 22,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,450,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 23,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,532,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 11.0% during the second quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI downgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.50.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock traded down $1.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $252.22. 121,164 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,032,140. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $267.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $254.58.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio 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.