Clark & Stuart Inc Decreases Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Clark & Stuart Inc cut its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Illinois Tool Works comprises about 1.2% of Clark & Stuart Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Clark & Stuart Inc’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at about $214,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at about $946,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $873,071,000 after purchasing an additional 95,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE ITW opened at $241.13 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $279.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $242.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $251.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 92.77%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $241.16 per share, with a total value of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 122,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,634,705.44. The trade was a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ITW shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $302.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.42.

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.