Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 344,099 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,545 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Illinois Tool Works worth $85,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 336.0% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ITW. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered 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. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $302.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $252.58.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock traded up $1.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $258.40. 759,518 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 996,891. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $245.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 1.09.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 92.77% and a net margin of 21.37%. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.77%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 122,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,634,705.44. This trade represents a 0.71% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.