Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Acquired by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $4,180,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter valued at $1,147,000. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,889.1% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 26,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,103,000 after buying an additional 25,144 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 213,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,821,000 after buying an additional 12,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $238.82 per share, with a total value of $185,085.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,018,062.92. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW traded up $5.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.93. 1,069,658 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,174,820. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $241.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $252.44. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.50 and a 12 month high of $271.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.82% and a net margin of 19.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $229.00 to $217.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $244.00 to $230.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $305.00 to $283.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $251.20.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.