First Horizon Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Security National Bank acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 775 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $238.82 per share, with a total value of $185,085.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,018,062.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $242.34. 43,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,145,775. The firm has a market cap of $72.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.50 and a 1 year high of $271.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $240.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.47.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.41 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.25 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ITW shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.22.

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.