PAX Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

PAX Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,876,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after acquiring an additional 398,676 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,729,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,774,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $225.25 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $224.94 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $66.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.40.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.19%.

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.