Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,388 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of ITT worth $9,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of ITT by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,437,674 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $364,457,000 after buying an additional 26,133 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ITT by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,369,021 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $204,736,000 after acquiring an additional 8,223 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of ITT by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 669,519 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $100,100,000 after purchasing an additional 27,885 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ITT in the third quarter worth approximately $67,503,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in ITT by 1.1% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 381,580 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $57,050,000 after purchasing an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ITT. TD Cowen increased their price target on ITT from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded ITT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target on ITT from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on ITT in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on ITT from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.38.

ITT Trading Down 0.2 %

ITT traded down $0.32 on Wednesday, reaching $145.38. 332,923 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 376,869. ITT Inc. has a one year low of $118.95 and a one year high of $161.13. The company has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

ITT (NYSE:ITT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The conglomerate reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.02. ITT had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ITT Inc. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

ITT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.351 dividend. This is a positive change from ITT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. ITT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.32%.

About ITT

ITT Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for the transportation, industrial, and energy markets in the United States and internationally. The Motion Technologies segment manufactures brake pads, shims, shock absorbers, and energy absorption components; and sealing technologies primarily for the transportation industry, including passenger cars, trucks, light- and heavy-duty commercial and military vehicles, buses, and trains.