North Star Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

North Star Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 928 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $7,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steele Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% in the second quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. now owns 863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 3,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% during the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 1,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 775 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $238.82 per share, with a total value of $185,085.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,018,062.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ITW opened at $243.81 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.50 and a 12-month high of $271.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $243.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.22.

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.