Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stake in ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT - Free Report) by 35.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,366 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 18,370 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.09% of ITT worth $10,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of ITT during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,323,000. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of ITT by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ITT by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 63,388 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $9,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in ITT by 63.8% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 17,004 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,430,000 after buying an additional 6,626 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in ITT by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company's stock.

ITT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITT traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $149.67. 338,099 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 377,150. ITT Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.01 and a 1 year high of $161.13. The company has a market cap of $12.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.35.

ITT (NYSE:ITT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The conglomerate reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.02. ITT had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 14.27%. Equities analysts predict that ITT Inc. will post 6.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ITT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.351 per share. This is a positive change from ITT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. ITT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITT has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of ITT in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of ITT from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of ITT from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of ITT from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of ITT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.38.

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.