Man Group plc Raises Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Man Group plc raised its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 45.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 10,999 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $8,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ITW. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 336.0% during the fourth quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $251.33 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $73.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $241.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $255.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $302.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America cut Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.67.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.