Meeder Asset Management Inc. Purchases 105 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 214.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $39,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 71,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,097,000 after buying an additional 13,231 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 305,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $77,529,000 after purchasing an additional 3,911 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,721,920 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $436,214,000 after purchasing an additional 205,327 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $181,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE ITW opened at $248.93 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $73.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.