Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW Shares Purchased by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 18.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 89,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,432,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.1% during the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.3% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 88,959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,197,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ITW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $258.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $264.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $261.00 to $253.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $261.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Pamela B. Strobel sold 1,521 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.25, for a total transaction of $373,025.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 39,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,817.25. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.6%

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $258.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $214.66 and a fifty-two week high of $278.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 93.26% and a net margin of 19.05%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 62.46%.

Illinois Tool Works Profile

Illinois Tool Works Inc (ITW) is a diversified industrial manufacturer that designs and produces a broad array of engineered products, consumables and related service solutions for industrial customers. Its offerings span engineered fastening systems, specialty components, industrial equipment, welding products, foodservice and packaging equipment, adhesives and polymer products, and test-and-measurement technologies. These products are used as critical inputs by customers across automotive, construction, electronics, foodservice, maintenance and other industrial end markets.

The company operates a decentralized business model in which independently managed businesses focus on niche product lines and close customer relationships.