Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 94,601 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 94,601 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Illinois Tool Works worth $6,675,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 44,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,596,000 after purchasing an additional 8,922 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $723,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 248,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,095,000 after purchasing an additional 12,649 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 88,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,066,000 after buying an additional 1,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ITW opened at $251.05 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $258.48 and a 200 day moving average of $260.57. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $73.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays set a $260.00 price objective on Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.10.

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.