Xponance Inc. Has $12.89 Million Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 50,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,749 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $12,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pensionfund Sabic increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 398,676 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,729,000. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% during 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 during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 11.8% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 36,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,680,000 after buying an additional 3,903 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.6 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $254.58 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $258.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders 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 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.19%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related 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 transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the firm’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 in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.10.

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.