Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 340,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,111,000 after acquiring an additional 16,846 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 1,393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,672,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,570,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 3.7 %

NYSE ITW opened at $274.89 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.05. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $80.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.