Groupama Asset Managment Makes New Investment in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $793,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,675,473,000 after purchasing an additional 94,601 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,277,127,000 after buying an additional 149,272 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,620,491,000 after acquiring an additional 99,753 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,071,000 after acquiring an additional 95,925 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $806,291,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety 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 Stock Performance

ITW stock opened at $252.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $74.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.75. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ITW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on 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 investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.30.

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.