PAX Financial Group LLC Makes New $206,000 Investment in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

PAX Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,675,473,000 after purchasing an additional 94,601 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,620,491,000 after buying an additional 99,753 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $873,071,000 after buying an additional 95,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $806,291,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $225.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $224.94 and a one year high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average is $256.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.40.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results 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%. Analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.