Regents Gate Capital LLP Acquires Shares of 13,508 Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 13,508 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,350,000. Illinois Tool Works comprises 1.4% of Regents Gate Capital LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,675,473,000 after acquiring an additional 94,601 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,465,570,000 after buying an additional 508,188 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,620,491,000 after buying an additional 99,753 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,132,493 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,047,837,000 after buying an additional 71,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $806,291,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of ITW traded up $3.73 on Thursday, reaching $263.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 501,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 996,213. 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 twelve month low of $214.66 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $246.68 and a 200-day moving average of $249.52.

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

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ITW. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $252.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

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

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.