Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Purchased by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 128 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $271.00.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $256.12 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $259.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.58. The company has a market capitalization of $75.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. As a group, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.