First Horizon Advisors Inc. Has $329,000 Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ITW. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $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 approximately $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.1 %

ITW opened at $264.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $77.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $256.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.91. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. Research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.19%.

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.