LPL Financial LLC Buys 22,078 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 470,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,078 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.16% of Illinois Tool Works worth $119,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,277,127,000 after acquiring an additional 149,272 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $873,071,000 after purchasing an additional 95,925 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,516,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $638,205,000 after buying an additional 32,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,503,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $634,797,000 after buying an additional 46,287 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $255.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $75.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $258.60 and its 200 day moving average is $260.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13.

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

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.10.

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.