Portfolio Design Labs LLC Takes $275,000 Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ITW. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned 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, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $266.38 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $277.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $261.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.46. The company has a market cap of $78.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 4.19 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.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.