Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Has $1.39 Million Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lowered its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.7 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $256.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $75.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. 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 fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $257.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.47.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. 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.