Grandfield & Dodd LLC Acquires 2,658 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 164,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,658 shares during the period. Illinois Tool Works makes up 2.6% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned 0.06% of Illinois Tool Works worth $41,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 398,676 shares during the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $1,729,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,774,000 after buying an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,179,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI cut 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $263.99 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $77.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $257.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.42.

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

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. 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.