ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Acquires 450 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nikulski Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price target 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $271.67.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $245.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $265.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.87. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s 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.