Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ITW. PEAK6 Investments LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 17.5% in the first quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 144,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,999,000 after purchasing an additional 9,825 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth approximately $1,179,000. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,727,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.8% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 175,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,686,000 after buying an additional 12,804 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock opened at $269.89 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $277.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $248.61.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.90%.

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.