Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Acquired by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 289.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 30,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,915,000 after buying an additional 22,449 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the third 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 period. Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth approximately $2,793,000. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 60,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 8,786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 5.9 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $225.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $224.94 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $256.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.44.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ITW. Barclays decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.30.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.