Breed s Hill Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 843 Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Breed s Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ITW. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ITW shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,471 shares of company stock worth $23,248,816. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE ITW traded up $2.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $249.73. 563,930 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,231,959. The company has a 50 day moving average of $257.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $252.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market cap of $74.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.14. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.06 and a 52-week high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 97.82%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.23%.

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.