Guinness Asset Management LTD Acquires 42,040 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 844,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 42,040 shares during the quarter. Illinois Tool Works makes up 4.0% of Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned approximately 0.29% of Illinois Tool Works worth $214,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 42,558 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,791,000 after acquiring an additional 20,502 shares during the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 8,781 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,227,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. City Holding Co. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 8,678 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,200,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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, Evercore ISI downgraded Illinois Tool Works from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $270.11.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded up $0.57 on Monday, hitting $256.50. The company had a trading volume of 844,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 768,759. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $264.26 and a 200-day moving average of $255.73.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.90%.

Illinois Tool Works 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.