Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Bought by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,763,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,547 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.60% of Illinois Tool Works worth $447,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,343,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $259.00 to $227.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $260.09.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded down $2.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $239.42. 1,285,772 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,000,535. The stock has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $247.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.16. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

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.