Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Purchased by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW – Get Rating) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. CNB Bank increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 723.1% during the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Standard Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Old North State Trust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 51.0% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 60,137 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.26, for a total value of $14,809,337.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 40,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,868,130.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Vice Chairman Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 60,137 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.26, for a total value of $14,809,337.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 40,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,868,130.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ernest Scott Santi sold 235,656 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.29, for a total value of $58,039,716.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,592,274.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $228.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $233.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.38. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $173.52 and a 52 week high of $253.37.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.60 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 87.15% and a net margin of 19.04%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ITW shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $213.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $240.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $210.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.07.

About Illinois Tool Works

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Illinois Tool Works, Inc engages in the manufacture of industrial products and equipment. It operates through the following segments: Automotive OEM, Test and Measurement and Electronics, Food Equipment, Polymers and Fluids, Welding, Construction Products, and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment produces components and fasteners for automotive-related applications.