Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Purchased by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 22,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,026,000 after acquiring an additional 3,204 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 340,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,111,000 after acquiring an additional 16,846 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ITW shares. StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 3.7 %

NYSE ITW opened at $274.89 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $257.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.94. The company has a market capitalization of $80.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works 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.