Wellington Management Group LLP Trims Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 59.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,034 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,675,473,000 after buying an additional 94,601 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after buying an additional 508,188 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,620,491,000 after buying an additional 99,753 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,132,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,047,837,000 after buying an additional 71,934 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $873,071,000 after acquiring an additional 95,925 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $245.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $239.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.35.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $241.16 per share, with a total value of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 122,884 shares in the company, valued at $29,634,705.44. This trade represents a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ITW. UBS Group dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.42.

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.