Symmetry Partners LLC Grows Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Symmetry Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 20.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,253 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $818,408,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,205,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,035,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,239 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,125,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $294,671,000 after acquiring an additional 675,000 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 629,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,927,000 after acquiring an additional 346,919 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 23,183.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 315,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,579,000 after acquiring an additional 313,906 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 775 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $238.82 per share, for a total transaction of $185,085.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 121,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,018,062.92. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup increased 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. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $229.00 to $217.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.44.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW opened at $240.48 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. The company has a market cap of $71.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.50 and a 52-week high of $271.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 97.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.23%.

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.