Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires 22,449 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 289.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 22,449 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $7,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $273.53 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $265.95 and its 200 day moving average is $251.68. The company has a market capitalization of $80.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 51.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ITW. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $266.30.

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.