Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Acquires 135,543 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 573.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 159,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,543 shares during the quarter. Illinois Tool Works makes up about 0.8% of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $41,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 14.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Vicus Capital bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 7.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 48,749 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $286,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.1 %

ITW traded down $0.23 on Thursday, hitting $242.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,325,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,879. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $259.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $251.72. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.06 and a 12-month high of $271.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.14.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.82% and a net margin of 19.07%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,299,844.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.29, for a total value of $1,493,401.83. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,870 shares in the company, valued at $2,273,292.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.78.

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.