Swedbank AB Buys New Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 85,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,941,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth about $171,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the first quarter worth about $195,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,201.8% during the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 10,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,857,000 after purchasing an additional 9,831 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 6.1% during the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 3,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 29.5% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ITW traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $243.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,281,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,134,753. 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 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $240.94 and its 200-day moving average is $251.06.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 99.74%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $268.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Argus raised Illinois Tool Works to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $275.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. bought 775 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $238.82 per share, for a total transaction of $185,085.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 121,506 shares in the company, valued at $29,018,062.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.