Ledyard National Bank Purchases 205 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Ledyard National Bank boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% during the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. PFG Advisors grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 6,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mcdonald Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% in the third quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 4,796 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW traded down $2.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $246.27. 835,521 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,241,014. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $259.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.70. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.06 and a 52-week high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 57.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.29, for a total value of $1,493,401.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,273,292.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ITW. Barclays raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America cut Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.00.

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.