Guardian Investment Management Has $2.57 Million Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Guardian Investment Management cut its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 836 shares during the period. Illinois Tool Works comprises approximately 2.1% of Guardian Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,205,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,035,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,239 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,829,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,954,691,000 after buying an additional 244,145 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 106,553.0% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,185,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,582,902,000 after buying an additional 7,178,474 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,899,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,578,299,000 after buying an additional 97,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,611,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,363,875,000 after buying an additional 607,321 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $9,851,485.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.00.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.4 %

ITW stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $248.64. 390,600 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,237,013. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $260.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $74.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $217.06 and a one year high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 96.60% and a net margin of 18.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

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.