Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Grows Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 35.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,786 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,312 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter worth about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $273.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 830,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,040,484. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market cap 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 50 day moving average of $266.20 and a 200 day moving average of $251.93.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 during 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 business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ITW shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI cut Illinois Tool Works from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $267.30.

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.