Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 12,290 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 12,290 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Illinois Tool Works worth $47,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 289.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 30,201 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,915,000 after acquiring an additional 22,449 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter worth $2,793,000. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.3% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 60,229 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 8,786 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $264.09.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW traded up $5.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $232.40. 1,451,463 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,007,240. The company has a market cap of $68.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company's 50-day moving average price is $252.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $258.95. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13.

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

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works's 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.