Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Trims Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 336 shares during the quarter. Illinois Tool Works makes up approximately 1.2% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $23,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 78,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,196,000 after purchasing an additional 9,275 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 39,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,204 shares in the last quarter. Exeter Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 7,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 57.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 12,450 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,341,000 after acquiring an additional 4,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, G&S Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 1st quarter worth $1,355,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ITW. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $256.44.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock traded down $1.47 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $237.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,158,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,175,305. The stock has a market cap of $70.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.50 and a 12-month high of $271.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $244.01 and a 200 day moving average of $254.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 97.82%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 55.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $238.82 per share, for a total transaction of $185,085.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,018,062.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.