Swedbank AB Purchases New Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 85,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,941,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,364,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,171,006,000 after buying an additional 51,654 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $818,408,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,951,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $773,234,000 after acquiring an additional 122,840 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,350,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $353,715,000 after buying an additional 26,089 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,001,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,232,000 after buying an additional 99,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 775 shares of Illinois Tool Works 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 acquisition, the director now owns 121,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,018,062.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $243.85. 1,281,644 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,134,753. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.50 and a 1-year high of $271.15. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $240.94 and a 200-day moving average of $251.06. The stock has a market cap of $72.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.41 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. Argus upgraded Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $267.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.67.

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.