Simplicity Wealth LLC Sells 5,845 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW

Simplicity Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,845 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,328.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,632,000 after purchasing an additional 12,954 shares in the last quarter. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter worth $1,162,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 39.5% during the second quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 67,439 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,674,000 after buying an additional 19,102 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 16.3% during the second quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after buying an additional 1,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 13.5% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 44,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,555,000 after buying an additional 5,253 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Pamela B. Strobel sold 1,521 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.25, for a total transaction of $373,025.25. Following the sale, the director directly owned 39,249 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,817.25. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 target price on Illinois Tool Works in a report on Monday, October 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $261.00 to $253.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $264.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $261.08.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $258.09 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.92. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $214.66 and a 12-month high of $278.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $74.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.05% and a return on equity of 93.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $1.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 62.46%.

Illinois Tool Works Profile

Illinois Tool Works Inc (ITW) is a diversified industrial manufacturer that designs and produces a broad array of engineered products, consumables and related service solutions for industrial customers. Its offerings span engineered fastening systems, specialty components, industrial equipment, welding products, foodservice and packaging equipment, adhesives and polymer products, and test-and-measurement technologies. These products are used as critical inputs by customers across automotive, construction, electronics, foodservice, maintenance and other industrial end markets.

The company operates a decentralized business model in which independently managed businesses focus on niche product lines and close customer relationships.