State of Wyoming Purchases 2,150 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

State of Wyoming increased its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 418.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,664 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $806,291,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $111,209,000 after purchasing an additional 437,397 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $253.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ITW traded down $2.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $242.03. The stock had a trading volume of 752,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,017,704. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $214.66 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $241.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.90. The firm has a market cap of $70.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

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

Illinois Tool Works 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.