Northern Trust Corp Purchases 508,188 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 508,188 shares during the period. Illinois Tool Works accounts for 0.5% of Northern Trust Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Northern Trust Corp owned 4.63% of Illinois Tool Works worth $3,465,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded up $3.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $242.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,543,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,009,367. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $245.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.63. The stock has a market cap of $71.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. Illinois Tool Works's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ITW. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $302.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $256.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

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.