Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 94,601 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 94,601 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 8.92% of Illinois Tool Works worth $6,675,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lyell Wealth Management LP lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ITW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays set a $260.00 price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.10.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value 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. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.9 %

ITW opened at $251.05 on Monday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $260.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 predict 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 given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 51.19%.

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.