Lokken Investment Group LLC Buys 193 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Lokken Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,620,491,000 after purchasing an additional 99,753 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 23,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,094,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 14,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,776,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,430,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $362,828,000 after buying an additional 60,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 30,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,677,000 after acquiring an additional 8,658 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $248.31 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $258.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.19%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.30.

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.