Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires New Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 106,411 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $27,038,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 31,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,881,000 after buying an additional 2,404 shares during the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 17,212 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,364,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth about $15,440,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on 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, StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $264.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ITW traded up $2.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $229.64. The company had a trading volume of 370,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,568. The stock has a market cap of $67.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $279.13. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $252.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $259.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

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.