Gould Asset Management LLC CA Invests $209,000 in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Gould Asset Management LLC CA purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 796 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,205,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,035,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,239 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,125,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $294,671,000 after acquiring an additional 675,000 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 23,183.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 315,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,579,000 after acquiring an additional 313,906 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 77.5% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 597,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $137,538,000 after acquiring an additional 260,679 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 699,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,131,000 after acquiring an additional 254,321 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.00.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $248.23. 947,179 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,241,645. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $260.16 and a 200 day moving average of $251.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.06 and a 52-week high of $271.15. The company has a market cap of $74.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.49%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.83, for a total value of $12,741,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,321,252.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Illinois Tool Works news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.83, for a total transaction of $12,741,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,321,252.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.