RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $1.58 Million in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 6,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,580,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on 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, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $268.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $248.93 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $260.81.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 51.19%.

Illinois Tool Works 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.