Bailard Inc. Boosts Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Bailard Inc. grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,505 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. F M Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,478 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,431 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $241.16 per share, with a total value 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ITW. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $237.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock 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 $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $253.83.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:ITW traded down $2.48 on Friday, reaching $255.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,029,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 994,647. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $248.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.55. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $214.66 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $74.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 92.77%. The company's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

Illinois Tool Works 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.