Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,615,472 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 57,997 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.22% of Illinois Tool Works worth $947,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.2% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 10,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,822,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 448,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $117,434,000 after acquiring an additional 28,518 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 21,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,644,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 3,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,667 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ITW. StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded up $3.52 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $269.90. 467,549 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,051,571. The business has a 50-day moving average of $261.33 and a 200-day moving average of $249.46. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $277.58. 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 capitalization of $79.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is currently 51.90%.

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.