Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Acquired by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,793 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,732 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $203,949,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 437,397 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $106,352,000 after purchasing an additional 308,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % 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 over the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ITW traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $249.13. The stock had a trading volume of 250,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 977,127. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year 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. The stock's 50 day moving average is $258.24 and its 200 day moving average is $260.83. The firm has a market cap of $73.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

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.