Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Invests $3 Million in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 11,848 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,004,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ITW. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,026,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $407,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 1,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ITW. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $260.09.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW traded up $0.88 on Friday, hitting $230.68. 889,342 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 999,503. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $249.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.86. 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 - Get Free Report) 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 return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.