Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 220,702 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,944 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Illinois Tool Works worth $55,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,277,127,000 after acquiring an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $873,071,000 after buying an additional 95,925 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,516,979 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $638,205,000 after buying an additional 32,607 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,503,537 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $634,797,000 after buying an additional 46,287 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays set a $260.00 price target on Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $269.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW traded down $3.05 on Thursday, hitting $253.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 842,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,078,014. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $258.24 and a 200-day moving average of $260.45. The company has a market capitalization of $74.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. 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 (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is 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.