Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,205,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,035,292,000 after buying an additional 1,238,239 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,829,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,954,691,000 after buying an additional 244,145 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 106,553.0% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,185,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,582,902,000 after purchasing an additional 7,178,474 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,899,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,578,299,000 after purchasing an additional 97,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 12.1% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,611,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,363,875,000 after purchasing an additional 607,321 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, 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 transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Illinois Tool Works news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $244.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $238.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $215.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $245.50.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE ITW opened at $268.33 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $260.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market cap of $80.16 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.06 and a 12 month high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 57.49%.

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.