Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Makes New Investment in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,708,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 51,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,590,000 after buying an additional 994 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $275,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Capital Group boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 3,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ITW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have given 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 an average price target of $269.10.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. 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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $253.19 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $232.77 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $74.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $258.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.40.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date 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.