Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Purchases 135,543 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 573.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 135,543 shares during the quarter. Illinois Tool Works comprises 0.8% of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. owned about 0.05% of Illinois Tool Works worth $41,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW traded down $0.23 on Thursday, reaching $242.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,325,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,879. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.72. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.06 and a 12-month high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 55.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ITW shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316 over the last quarter. 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.