Berger Financial Group Inc Invests $262,000 in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Berger Financial Group Inc purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 336.0% in the fourth quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.3 %

ITW opened at $240.21 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $247.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.01. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ITW. Barclays decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $260.09.

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.