Ballast Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Ballast Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 59.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 52.7% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. 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. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $238.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.78.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW traded up $2.79 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $256.30. The stock had a trading volume of 283,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,563. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $260.94 and a 200-day moving average of $250.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $76.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.13. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316. Insiders own 1.26% 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.