National Pension Service Boosts Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 614,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,970 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of Illinois Tool Works worth $155,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,277,127,000 after buying an additional 149,272 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the third 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,347,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $877,234,000 after purchasing an additional 135,023 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,503,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $634,797,000 after purchasing an additional 46,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,849,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,685,000 after purchasing an additional 32,656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $261.30 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $256.84 and its 200 day moving average is $258.93. The stock has a market cap of $76.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. 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 (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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.30.

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.