Zhang Financial LLC Takes $542,000 Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Zhang Financial LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 2,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 8,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 6,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $250.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $74.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $260.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.79. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 96.60% and a net margin of 18.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.00.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.29, for a total transaction of $1,493,401.83. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,273,292.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.29, for a total transaction of $1,493,401.83. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,273,292.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chairman now directly 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 three months, insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316. Corporate 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.