Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. by 21.7%, selling 7,991 shares and owning 28,879 shares valued at $7,162,000 as per its latest SEC filing.
• Illinois Tool Works recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.61, reflecting an increase from its previous dividend of $1.50, which will be paid to stockholders recorded on September 30th.
• Equities analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" on Illinois Tool Works, with an average target price of $259.33 after several recent adjustments to price targets from various firms.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 21.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,879 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,991 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $7,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $274,000. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,899.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 224,921 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $57,031,000 after buying an additional 213,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,061,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $269,193,000 after acquiring an additional 63,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 872 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 122,884 shares in the company, valued at $29,634,705.44. This represents a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW traded up $1.59 on Wednesday, reaching $257.63. 1,162,209 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,013,479. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $75.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.09.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 90.89% and a net margin of 21.31%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $1.61 dividend. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $283.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $259.33.

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.