Strategic Financial Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Strategic Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ITW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.10.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $256.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $75.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

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.