Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Sells 127 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lessened its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.30.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related 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 value of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $264.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.11. 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 12 month low of $232.77 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $257.08 and a 200-day moving average of $258.29.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.