Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Buys 99 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 145.2% during the first quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Sturgeon Ventures LLP bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 52.7% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. AXS Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 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 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $213.00 to $198.00 in a report on Thursday, September 7th. Credit Suisse Group raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $237.18.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded down $0.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $237.02. The stock had a trading volume of 182,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,069,021. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $180.27 and a one year high of $264.19. The company has a market capitalization of $71.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 4.25 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.81.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 51.83%.

Illinois Tool Works 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.