Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 72,107 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 56.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 198,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,107 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $50,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

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 transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of ITW stock opened at $253.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $74.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $258.35 and a 200-day moving average of $260.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays set a $260.00 price target on Illinois Tool Works and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.10.

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.