Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,710,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 108,050 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.58% of Illinois Tool Works worth $433,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 776,966 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $203,619,000 after buying an additional 12,988 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $759,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,972 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,186,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 128.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 23,217 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,084,000 after buying an additional 13,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $358,321,000 after acquiring an additional 398,676 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ITW shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $260.09.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock traded down $1.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $240.49. 381,214 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 997,618. The firm has a market cap of $70.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $248.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.27. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.