Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.50

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 14th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 1.50 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st.

Illinois Tool Works has increased its dividend by an average of 7.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 55 years. Illinois Tool Works has a payout ratio of 53.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Illinois Tool Works to earn $11.24 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.4%.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 2.2 %

ITW stock opened at $246.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.64. The stock has a market cap of $72.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works has a fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial boosted 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Illinois Tool Works stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 277 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

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.