2,771 Shares in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Acquired by Castellan Group

Key Points

• Castellan Group has acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. by purchasing 2,771 shares valued at approximately $687,000 in the first quarter.
• Other significant institutional investors have also increased their stakes, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Auto Owners Insurance Co., which grew their holdings by 26,372.8% and 55,978.4%, respectively.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with price targets ranging from $220.00 to $265.00, and an average rating of "Hold."

Castellan Group 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 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,771 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $687,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 19,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,836,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC now owns 18,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,521,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 5,143 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 8,798 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,182,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $4.06 on Friday, hitting $251.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,236,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 992,529. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $73.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 1.09. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 90.89%. The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $1.61 dividend. This is a boost from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on ITW shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI cut their target price 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, Bank of America lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $259.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 122,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. The trade was a 0.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.