Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Acquired by Avantax Planning Partners Inc.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $260.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.10.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE ITW opened at $267.47 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $78.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $257.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS 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%. Analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.19%.

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.