Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Trims Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ITW. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Security National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $229.00 to $217.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $256.44.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:ITW traded down $2.93 on Friday, reaching $240.40. 1,813,650 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 922,801. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.50 and a 12 month high of $271.15. The company has a market capitalization of $71.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $254.20. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.82% and a net margin of 19.07%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 55.23%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $238.82 per share, for a total transaction of $185,085.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at $29,018,062.92. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.