Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Has $21.14 Million Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,330 shares during the quarter. Illinois Tool Works makes up approximately 1.0% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $21,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $806,291,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,123,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057,872 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $229,269,000 after purchasing an additional 655,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $253.42.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.6%

ITW stock traded up $1.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $247.69. 604,764 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,010,798. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. 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 simple moving average is $239.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.35. The firm has a market cap of $72.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. The firm's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is presently 52.77%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $241.16 per share, with a total value of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is owned by 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.