UPDATE: Illinois Tool Works Posts Upbeat Q3 Earnings, Lifts Earnings Forecast

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and lifted its 2014 earnings forecast.For the year, the company now expects earnings of $4.57 to $4.65 per share, versus its prior forecast of $4.50 to $4.52 per share.For the fourth quarter, Illinois Tool Works projects earnings of $1.07 to $1.15 per share on flat revenue. Analysts projected earnings of $1.13 per share on revenue growth of 2%.The Glenview, Illinois-based company posted a quarterly profit of $531 million, or $1.34 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $452 million, or $1.01 per share. Its earnings from continuing operations surged to $1.28 per share from $0.90 per share.Its revenue rose 3.5% to $3.7 billion. The company had estimated earnings of $1.19 to $1.27 per share on revenue growth of 3% to 4%. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.23 per share on revenue of $3.68 billion.Automotive OEM organic revenue rose 8%, while Food Equipment's organic revenue climbed 5%. Welding's organic revenue jumped 5% in the quarter.ITW's operating margin increased 1.9 percentage points to 20.9% in the period.Scott Santi, president and chief executive officer said, "These results reflect continued progress in the execution of our enterprise strategy as we position ITW for solid organic growth with best-in-class margins and returns.”Illinois Tool Works shares climbed 3.09% to $85.99 at 1:00 p.m. ET.