Principal Securities Inc. Has $1.70 Million Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,695 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $358,321,000 after acquiring an additional 398,676 shares during the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $1,729,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,774,000 after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at $1,179,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.5 %

ITW traded down $1.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $264.30. 918,393 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 965,335. 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 fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $257.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $258.12. The stock has a market cap of $77.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.41 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $269.30.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.