McIlrath & Eck LLC Boosts Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Clarity Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $315,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $941,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $739,000. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,096,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 42.2% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of ITW opened at $249.90 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.42. The stock has a market cap of $73.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $302.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.42.

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.