1,342 Shares in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Purchased by World Equity Group Inc.

World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after buying an additional 398,676 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,352,000 after buying an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,645,972,000 after buying an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 787.3% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 186,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,945,000 after buying an additional 165,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,277,127,000 after buying an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on 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, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.2 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $261.24 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $76.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $256.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.73.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.