Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Boosts Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 3,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.7 %

ITW stock opened at $254.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $257.83 and a 200 day moving average of $260.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ITW. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.10.

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.