Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Bought by Advisors Preferred LLC

Advisors Preferred LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 68.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,813 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after purchasing an additional 508,188 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,620,491,000 after purchasing an additional 99,753 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,132,493 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,047,837,000 after purchasing an additional 71,934 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $806,291,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,123,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057,872 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $237.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. UBS Group decreased their target price 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, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $302.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $255.67.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $261.87. The stock had a trading volume of 1,092,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,734. 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 is $250.18 and its 200-day moving average is $249.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.09.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 92.77%. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.77%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 122,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. This trade represents a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company 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.