Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Stake Boosted by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,847 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $25,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ITW. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 106,553.0% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,185,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,582,902,000 after acquiring an additional 7,178,474 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $708,259,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 59.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,591,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,011,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,707,780 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,205,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,035,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,125,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $294,671,000 after purchasing an additional 675,000 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ITW shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.00.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.7 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $249.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $74.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.06 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $260.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.66.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.01. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 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 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 57.49%.

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.