Lbp Am Sa Makes New Investment in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Lbp Am Sa bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 16,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,125,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $203,949,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,209,000 after acquiring an additional 437,397 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during 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 during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,352,000 after buying an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,645,972,000 after buying an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.10.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $254.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $257.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.34.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.19%.

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.