Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Buys 345 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $340,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 5,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock opened at $261.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $256.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $258.73. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. Equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors 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 yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.