Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lessened its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $9,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ITW. Nikulski Financial Inc. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% during the third quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $271.00.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.3 %

ITW opened at $255.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The company has a market cap of $75.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $259.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.18.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. Sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.