Eastern Bank Decreases Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Eastern Bank lessened its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,729,000. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,774,000 after buying an additional 3,227 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $270.11.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $249.41 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market cap of $73.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $265.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.18. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13.

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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.