Sage Capital Advisors llc Buys 105 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sage Capital Advisors llc grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Illinois Tool Works accounts for about 1.8% of Sage Capital Advisors llc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $5,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.6% in the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 7,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216 shares during the period. One Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at $249,000. Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 22.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,967,000 after purchasing an additional 3,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, White Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.0% during the first quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $256.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $213.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $237.18.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded down $0.80 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $236.91. The stock had a trading volume of 123,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,068,520. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.15. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.27 and a 12-month high of $264.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 94.14%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.83%.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment worldwide. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses.