CenterBook Partners LP Purchases New Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,116 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,297,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $806,291,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $229,269,000 after purchasing an additional 655,341 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $111,209,000 after buying an additional 437,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $358,321,000 after buying an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $259.00 to $227.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $260.09.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $231.44. 467,887 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,142,990. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $251.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.53. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $214.66 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The company has a market cap of $67.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

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.