Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 473,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 36,765 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Illinois Tool Works worth $119,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $358,321,000 after buying an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,729,000. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,774,000 after buying an additional 3,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 308,935 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.30.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following 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 trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 in the last ninety days. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $251.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.19%.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.