HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Purchases 259 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 259 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $358,321,000 after acquiring an additional 398,676 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $1,729,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,774,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted 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 valued at $106,352,000 after purchasing an additional 308,935 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $246.34 on Monday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $258.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.83. The firm has a market cap of $72.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ITW shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.30.

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.