Natixis Has $1.74 Million Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Natixis boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 61.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,607 shares during the quarter. Natixis’ holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $806,291,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $229,269,000 after purchasing an additional 655,341 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,209,000 after purchasing an additional 437,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $358,321,000 after buying an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $236.49 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.50. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $214.66 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The company has a market capitalization of $69.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. 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 forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ITW. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $259.00 to $227.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $260.09.

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.