Natixis Advisors L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 226,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,165 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $59,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 7.4% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 48,749 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at $286,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 65,972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,194,000 after buying an additional 9,613 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:ITW traded up $1.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $243.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 909,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,258,057. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.06 and a 1 year high of $271.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $259.07 and a 200-day moving average of $251.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.14.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 97.82%. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 55.23%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,471 shares of company stock valued at $35,970,816 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $229.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.78.

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.