EP Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 10.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 493 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ITW. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,088.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 323,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $847,610,000 after buying an additional 322,192 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 242.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 341,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,888,000 after buying an additional 241,618 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 787.3% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 186,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,945,000 after buying an additional 165,607 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,277,127,000 after buying an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% in 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 buying an additional 135,023 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.1 %

ITW stock opened at $273.79 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $266.20 and a 200-day moving average of $251.93.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ITW. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $267.30.

Illinois Tool Works 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.