Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,011 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,011 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in 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. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.7 %

ITW stock opened at $256.46 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company has a market capitalization of $75.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ITW. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their price target 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. decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.