FourThought Financial Partners LLC Sells 1,280 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Key Points

• FourThought Financial Partners LLC reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. by 12.8%, selling 1,280 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 8,690 shares valued at approximately $2.155 million.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Illinois Tool Works, with a consensus target of $255.67, indicating a mix of ratings that include three sell, eight hold, and two buy ratings.
• Illinois Tool Works declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $6.00 and a yield of 2.29%.

FourThought Financial Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 12.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,690 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,280 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. F M Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,478 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,504,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,431 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $255.67.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $241.16 per share, with a total value of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 122,884 shares in the company, valued at $29,634,705.44. This represents a 0.71% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $261.87 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The company has a market cap of $76.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a PEG ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The firm's fifty day moving average is $250.18 and its 200 day moving average is $249.88.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 92.77%. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is 52.77%.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.

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