Duality Advisers LP Takes $1.20 Million Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 13.8% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 1,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 24,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,743,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 59.4% during the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $250.64 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.06 and a 1 year high of $271.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $260.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.30.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 96.60% and a net margin of 18.36%. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316 over the last 90 days. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.00.

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.