NEOS Investment Management LLC Buys 3,732 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 30.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,732 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ITW. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Lyell Wealth Management LP raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of ITW opened at $251.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $258.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

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 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

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.