Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steele Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% in the second quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. now owns 863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 3,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $253.18 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.50 and a 52-week high of $271.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $242.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.05. The company has a market capitalization of $75.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 59.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $251.00 to $246.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.22.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $238.82 per share, with a total value of $185,085.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,018,062.92. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.