SWS Partners Raises Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

SWS Partners raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the quarter. SWS Partners’ holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,209,000 after purchasing an additional 437,397 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,645,972,000 after acquiring an additional 167,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 787.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 186,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,945,000 after acquiring an additional 165,607 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE ITW opened at $261.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $257.09 and a 200-day moving average of $259.57. The firm has a market cap of $76.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.