Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $273,000 in ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,115 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of ITT by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 517,307 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $73,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,424 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of ITT by 880.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of ITT by 422.7% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,208 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 3,403 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of ITT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,214,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of ITT by 218.0% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 14,051 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 9,633 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ITT Stock Performance

Shares of ITT stock traded down $1.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $150.44. The stock had a trading volume of 492,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,497. ITT Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.64 and a fifty-two week high of $161.13. The firm has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $141.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.63.

ITT (NYSE:ITT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The conglomerate reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. ITT had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The business had revenue of $913.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $901.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The business's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ITT Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

ITT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.351 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. ITT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ITT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of ITT from $160.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of ITT from $181.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of ITT from $161.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of ITT from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of ITT from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $165.50.

About ITT

ITT Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for the transportation, industrial, and energy markets in the United States and internationally. The Motion Technologies segment manufactures brake pads, shims, shock absorbers, and energy absorption components; and sealing technologies primarily for the transportation industry, including passenger cars, trucks, light- and heavy-duty commercial and military vehicles, buses, and trains.