Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Ascent Wealth Partners LLC

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $6,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 44,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,861,000 after buying an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $238.82 per share, for a total transaction of $185,085.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 121,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,018,062.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.1 %

ITW traded up $2.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $253.18. 822,593 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,125,751. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.50 and a 1 year high of $271.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $242.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.10. The firm has a market cap of $75.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 59.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ITW shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.22.

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.