Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,170 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,077 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $7,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Pensionfund Sabic grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,876,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,729,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,774,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,179,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ITW. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $266.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $269.89.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ITW traded up $3.50 on Thursday, hitting $259.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,146,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,252. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $262.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.86.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.