Man Group plc Has $8.97 Million Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Man Group plc grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 45.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,376 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,999 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $8,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ITW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $806,291,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $229,269,000 after buying an additional 655,341 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% during 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 buying an additional 508,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $111,209,000 after buying an additional 437,397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded down $2.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $242.03. The company had a trading volume of 752,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,017,704. The firm's fifty day moving average is $241.07 and its 200 day moving average is $254.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $214.66 and a twelve month high of $279.13. 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 (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ITW. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI decreased 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 research report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $253.42.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.