Sigma Planning Corp Buys 544 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sigma Planning Corp lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,352,000 after purchasing an additional 308,935 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 787.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 186,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,945,000 after buying an additional 165,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,277,127,000 after buying an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $261.24 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $256.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.73. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.30.

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.