Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 19.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 8,924 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% during the first quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 391,240 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $97,032,000 after buying an additional 1,689 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded down $4.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $241.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 801,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,010,166. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $240.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.54. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company has a market capitalization of $70.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.10. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. Illinois Tool Works's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 122,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. This represents a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ITW. Bank of America downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $253.42.

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.