UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Has $5 Million Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,949,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 437,397 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $358,321,000 after buying an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,352,000 after acquiring an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 167,422 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $246.34 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $258.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.64. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13. 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 company has a market cap of $72.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ITW. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.30.

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.