LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Lowers Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lowered its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $806,291,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,123,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057,872 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $229,269,000 after buying an additional 655,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,465,570,000 after buying an additional 508,188 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.5%

ITW stock opened at $244.33 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $214.66 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.54.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 92.77%. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 52.77%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 122,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. The trade was a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $302.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.42.

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.