Groupama Asset Managment Buys Shares of 3,113 Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $793,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,108,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,099 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 264.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 6,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 4,405 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 13,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $252.93 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $257.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $74.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13.

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

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ITW. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $268.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.