Avestar Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,277,127,000 after purchasing an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,347,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $877,234,000 after purchasing an additional 135,023 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,849,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,685,000 after purchasing an additional 32,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,757,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $460,533,000 after acquiring an additional 17,139 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $271.00.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $257.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $76.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $258.44 and its 200 day moving average is $257.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.19%.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.