Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires Shares of 36,686 Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 36,686 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $9,302,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,836 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 33,945 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,048,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,357 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 43,675 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,074,000 after acquiring an additional 5,380 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on 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. Barclays set a $260.00 target price on Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $269.10.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE ITW traded down $2.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $251.05. 1,565,940 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 933,723. The company has a market capitalization 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 yield of 2.39%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.