UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Grows Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 211.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,209 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the first quarter worth about $3,779,000. Invesco LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 42.2% in the first quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 29.1% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 40,733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,930,000 after purchasing an additional 9,175 shares in the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% in the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 27,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,377,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Secured Retirement Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 8.4% in the first quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 5,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE ITW traded down $3.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $239.30. The stock had a trading volume of 892,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,170,123. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $241.29 and its 200 day moving average is $251.55. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.50 and a twelve month high of $271.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.82% and a net margin of 19.07%. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ITW shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $244.00 to $230.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $229.00 to $217.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $305.00 to $283.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $259.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $238.82 per share, with a total value of $185,085.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,018,062.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.