Mattern Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Mattern Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $7,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $818,408,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 629,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,927,000 after purchasing an additional 346,919 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 1st quarter worth about $65,747,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 380.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 261,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,521,000 after purchasing an additional 207,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 30.7% in the second quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 767,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $181,926,000 after buying an additional 180,458 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ITW. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.22.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $238.82 per share, with a total value of $185,085.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 121,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,018,062.92. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $244.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $73.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $217.50 and a one year high of $271.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $248.96.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 59.17%.

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.