Cetera Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 57.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,274 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $818,408,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 629,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,927,000 after acquiring an additional 346,919 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 23,183.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 315,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,579,000 after purchasing an additional 313,906 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at $65,747,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 380.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 261,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,521,000 after purchasing an additional 207,167 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $243.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,281,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,134,753. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $240.94 and its 200 day moving average is $251.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.50 and a twelve month high of $271.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 99.74% and a net margin of 19.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $238.82 per share, for a total transaction of $185,085.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,018,062.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $217.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $283.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Argus upgraded Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.75.

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.