Schroder Investment Management Group Buys 205,327 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,721,920 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 205,327 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.58% of Illinois Tool Works worth $436,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 998,459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $261,666,000 after acquiring an additional 39,445 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 12.2% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 17.5% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 39,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,405,000 after acquiring an additional 3,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW opened at $246.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $258.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36.

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

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last 90 days. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.30.

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.