Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Acquired by Railway Pension Investments Ltd

Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 29.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,600 shares during the quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $16,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter worth approximately $1,147,000. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 25,144 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 213,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,821,000 after purchasing an additional 12,065 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.67.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ITW stock traded up $1.59 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. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.50 and a 52-week high of $271.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $240.94 and its 200-day moving average is $251.06.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 $29,018,062.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.