Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lowered its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $818,408,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $6,035,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,239 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $294,671,000 after acquiring an additional 675,000 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $164,927,000 after acquiring an additional 346,919 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $229.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.78.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW traded down $1.38 on Friday, reaching $240.07. The stock had a trading volume of 997,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,028,236. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.32. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.06 and a 12-month high of $271.15. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $254.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $254.13. The stock has a market cap of $71.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.82% and a net margin of 19.07%. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

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

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.