Laurion Capital Management LP Increases Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Laurion Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 57.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,428 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,236 shares during the period. Laurion Capital Management LP's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,675,473,000 after acquiring an additional 94,601 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,465,570,000 after purchasing an additional 508,188 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,620,491,000 after buying an additional 99,753 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $873,071,000 after buying an additional 95,925 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 in the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ITW. Bank of America lowered Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $253.67.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW traded up $2.96 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $248.10. 926,596 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,021,894. The company has a market capitalization of $72.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $242.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.