Shotwell Rutter Baer Inc Invests $290,000 in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Shotwell Rutter Baer Inc bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $290,000. Illinois Tool Works makes up about 0.6% of Shotwell Rutter Baer Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 6,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $952,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $238.82 per share, for a total transaction of $185,085.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at $29,018,062.92. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $229.00 to $217.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.44.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW traded up $2.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $243.33. 1,186,915 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,174,958. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.19. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.50 and a twelve month high of $271.15. The company has a market cap of $72.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 97.82%. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 55.23%.

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.