Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,269 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,277,127,000 after purchasing an additional 149,272 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 95,925 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,503,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $634,797,000 after buying an additional 46,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,849,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,685,000 after buying an additional 32,656 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup dropped 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 note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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 note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $263.99 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $259.42. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. Research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.