Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Acquired by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,413 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 294 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI downgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $266.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.89.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $258.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $76.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.77. 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, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.