Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. by 7.2%, owning 114,102 shares valued at approximately $28.27 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments about Illinois Tool Works, with price targets ranging from $220 to $265, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold".
• Illinois Tool Works has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.61 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend of $1.50, contributing to an annualized yield of 2.5%.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 114,102 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 7,691 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $28,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,387,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 2,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 1,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $241.16 per share, with a total value of $210,291.52. Following the purchase, the director owned 122,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. The trade was a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ITW shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note 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 note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $259.33.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW stock traded down $4.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $258.43. 1,115,058 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,044,403. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $253.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.15. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $75.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.09.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.02. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 90.89%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $1.61 dividend. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This is an increase from Illinois Tool Works's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.59%.

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.