Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Bought by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,277,127,000 after purchasing an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,347,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $877,234,000 after buying an additional 135,023 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,849,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,685,000 after purchasing an additional 32,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,757,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $460,533,000 after buying an additional 17,139 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ITW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $264.41 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The company has a market cap of $77.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $256.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $258.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued 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 net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.