Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Stock Position Raised by Northern Financial Advisors Inc

Northern Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $733,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.1% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 66,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,222,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 93,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,553,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,273,292.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,248,816 in the last 90 days. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $229.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.78.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.1 %

ITW stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $247.39. 162,456 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,233,790. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $258.17 and its 200-day moving average is $252.34. The company has a market cap of $73.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.06 and a 52-week high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 97.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 55.23%.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.