Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 1,834 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,055 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,834 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $8,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter worth $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 261.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 159 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus raised Illinois Tool Works to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI downgraded Illinois Tool Works from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:ITW traded up $4.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $273.95. The stock had a trading volume of 950,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 923,390. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $80.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $277.58. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $262.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $249.80.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. 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 presently 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.