Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after acquiring an additional 398,676 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,088.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 323,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $847,610,000 after buying an additional 322,192 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,352,000 after buying an additional 308,935 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $1,645,972,000 after buying an additional 167,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 787.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 186,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,945,000 after buying an additional 165,607 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $256.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $259.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.58. The company has a market capitalization of $75.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. On average, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $271.00.

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.