FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Makes New Investment in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,067 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 51,741 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,832,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 7,963 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,975,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,558 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 347.1% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 38,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,424,000 after buying an additional 29,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $252.83.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.9%

ITW stock opened at $259.71 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $247.49 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 company has a market cap of $76.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

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, 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 21.37% and a return on equity of 92.77%. Illinois Tool Works's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the transaction, the director owned 122,884 shares in the company, valued at $29,634,705.44. This represents a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

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.

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