27,444 Shares in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Bought by Essential Planning LLC.

Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 27,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,279,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ITW shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $255.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $257.83 and its 200 day moving average is $260.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $74.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.19%.

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.