Nikulski Financial Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Nikulski Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 6,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Mcdonald Partners LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 4,796 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on ITW shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America cut Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.83, for a total value of $12,741,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,321,252.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Illinois Tool Works news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.83, for a total value of $12,741,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at $56,321,252.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,505,185.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $250.46 on Monday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.06 and a 12 month high of $271.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $260.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.07. The firm has a market cap of $74.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

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.