Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Acquires 118 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 12.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth about $203,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.8% during the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth about $375,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $263.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $257.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.13. 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 (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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. On average, equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. 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.