Howard Capital Management Inc. Raises Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after buying an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,352,000 after acquiring an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 787.3% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 186,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,945,000 after purchasing an additional 165,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,277,127,000 after purchasing an additional 149,272 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW opened at $261.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.73. The firm has a market cap of $76.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ITW shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.30.

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.