Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Purchased by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 130.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 14.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 194,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,842,000 after purchasing an additional 5,749 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.4% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 48,749 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,227,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $244.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.33. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $217.06 and a one year high of $271.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $259.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $251.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.01. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.00.

Illinois Tool Works 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.