Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. Sells 244 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $261.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $257.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted 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 return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. Equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.