Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Stock Position Increased by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 36,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,279,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 25,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $202,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $268.30.

Insider Activity

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction 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 approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE ITW opened at $246.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.64. The company has a market capitalization of $72.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. 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.