Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $5,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 9,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,899,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 70.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.23, for a total transaction of $1,297,822.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,121,970.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $235.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $256.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $213.00 to $198.00 in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $237.18.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $244.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.27 and a 12-month high of $264.19. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.57.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 94.14% and a net margin of 19.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 12th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.83%.

Illinois Tool Works Company Profile

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment worldwide. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses.