Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 13,366 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has decreased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 43.6%, now holding 17,272 shares valued at approximately $4.28 million.
• Illinois Tool Works reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.58, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a slight increase from the previous year's EPS of $2.54.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.61, reflecting an annualized amount of $6.44 and a yield of 2.6%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 43.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,272 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,366 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after purchasing an additional 508,188 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,132,493 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,047,837,000 after purchasing an additional 71,934 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,123,080,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057,872 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,059,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $522,110,000 after purchasing an additional 209,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,943,570 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $492,812,000 after acquiring an additional 77,626 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ITW. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $237.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $283.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $259.08.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $4.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $251.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,236,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,054,351. The company has a 50-day moving average of $251.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The company has a market cap of $73.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.09. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $214.66 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.02. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 90.89% and a net margin of 21.31%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. Illinois Tool Works's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.61 per share. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.59%.

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.