Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Stock Holdings Lessened by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 676,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 23,456 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $171,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,209,000 after buying an additional 437,397 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $358,321,000 after buying an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,352,000 after purchasing an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,645,972,000 after buying an additional 167,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 787.3% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 186,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,945,000 after acquiring an additional 165,607 shares in the last quarter. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $261.96 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $257.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.57. The firm has a market cap of $76.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ITW shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. 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 report 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 report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.30.

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.