Sei Investments Co. Purchases 4,003 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,003 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $21,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,277,127,000 after purchasing an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,645,972,000 after acquiring an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $873,071,000 after acquiring an additional 95,925 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,516,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $638,205,000 after acquiring an additional 32,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,503,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $634,797,000 after purchasing an additional 46,287 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $255.86 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $258.68 and a 200-day moving average of $260.70. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The stock has a market cap of $75.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last ninety days. 1.26% 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.