Ballast Advisors LLC Buys 364 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Ballast Advisors LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ITW. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.10.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $253.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $258.35 and its 200-day moving average is $260.40. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.