AJOVista LLC Purchases Shares of 360 Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 66,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 128.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 2,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 1,618 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 8.9% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,222,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 93,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $243.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 929,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,218,462. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.14. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.06 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ITW shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $229.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.29, for a total transaction of $1,493,401.83. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,273,292.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,471 shares of company stock worth $35,970,816 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.