Lifeworks Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 18.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,808 shares during the period. Lifeworks Advisors LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $806,291,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $5,123,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057,872 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 55,978.4% in the 1st quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,430,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $354,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,450 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% in the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the 4th 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 872 shares of Illinois Tool Works 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 purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $261.87. 1,092,980 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 879,734. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $250.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.90. The company has a market cap of $76.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $214.66 and a 12-month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 92.77% and a net margin of 21.37%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ITW. Bank of America cut Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $237.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $255.67.

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.