Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Has $375,000 Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $95,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 36,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 25,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after buying an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE ITW opened at $246.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $72.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.30.

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.