Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 29.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,557 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. F M Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the first 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 period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 1.0%

ITW stock traded down $2.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $246.51. The stock had a trading volume of 727,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,011,550. The firm has a market cap of $72.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $214.66 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $240.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.75.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during 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%. Illinois Tool Works's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. On average, equities 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $257.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $302.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $253.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $241.16 per share, with a total value of $210,291.52. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 122,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. This represents a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

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.