Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO Trims Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lowered its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 8.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $263,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 22,309,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,431,195,000 after acquiring an additional 997,389 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 106,553.0% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,185,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,582,902,000 after acquiring an additional 7,178,474 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,005,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,531,936,000 after acquiring an additional 545,904 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,611,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,363,875,000 after acquiring an additional 607,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 59.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,591,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,011,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,707,780 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.56% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of ITW stock traded down $1.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $238.31. 1,541,503 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,074,518. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.59. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $180.27 and a one year high of $264.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.02. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 94.14%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.37 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ITW. Citigroup upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $256.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $213.00 to $198.00 in a report on Thursday, September 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 25th. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $237.18.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.