Fermata Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Fermata Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 208 shares during the quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,454,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 15,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,976,000 after buying an additional 3,765 shares during the period. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. West Coast Financial LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 47,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,934,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, Flywheel Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $263,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $256.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $264.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $75.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ITW. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI lowered Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $270.11.

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.