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

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,115 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ITT by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,486 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in ITT by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ITT by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in ITT by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,534 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in ITT by 101.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 248 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of ITT from $161.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of ITT from $160.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of ITT from $181.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ITT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of ITT from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.50.

ITT Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of ITT stock traded down $1.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $150.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 492,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,070. ITT Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.64 and a 52-week high of $161.13. The company has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's 50-day moving average is $141.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

ITT (NYSE:ITT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $913.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $901.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ITT Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

ITT Dividend Announcement

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

ITT Company Profile

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.