36,686 Shares in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Acquired by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 36,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,302,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after buying an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $1,729,000. Czech National Bank lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 11.8% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 36,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,680,000 after purchasing an additional 3,903 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $256.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.47. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $232.77 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. Analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.10.

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.