PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,174,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 87,879 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $291,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth $26,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 336.0% in the fourth quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $237.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $259.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 122,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,634,705.44. This trade represents a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.6%

ITW opened at $251.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $73.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.14. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 90.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 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 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $1.61 dividend. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 52.59%.

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.