Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Acquired by RFG Advisory LLC

RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 45.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,078 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 13.9% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,384 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,327,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the first quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,195 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,032,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 36.5% in the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 11,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,974,000 after buying an additional 3,209 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at about $125,000. Finally, Moller Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at about $362,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 872 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 122,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,634,705.44. This trade represents a 0.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ITW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America lowered Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $302.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $253.42.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW traded up $1.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $247.69. 604,764 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,011,920. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $253.22. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Illinois Tool Works's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.