Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC Increases Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ITW shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 2.8 %

ITW opened at $255.01 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The company has a market capitalization of $74.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $259.67.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

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.