Meridian Financial LLC Sells 150 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Meridian Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Meridian Financial LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ITW. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,277,127,000 after acquiring an additional 149,272 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,347,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $877,234,000 after purchasing an additional 135,023 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,702,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $640,425,000 after buying an additional 62,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,849,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $484,685,000 after buying an additional 32,656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ITW shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lowered Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $270.11.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $256.50 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The company’s 50-day moving average is $264.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.45. 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 PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date 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.