Red Wave Investments LLC Acquires New Shares in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Red Wave Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,056.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Illinois Tool Works news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $250.53 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $260.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.59. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.06 and a 52 week high of $271.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.84 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 96.60% and a net margin of 18.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 57.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ITW shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.00.

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.