United Asset Strategies Inc. Boosts Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 9,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,899,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 9.9% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 70.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $238.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial started coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.78.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at $12,299,844.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $253.56. 336,963 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,244,364. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.06 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $260.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.52. The stock has a market cap of $75.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.49%.

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.