ICW Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $2,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 25.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 44,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,596,000 after buying an additional 8,922 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter valued at about $723,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 5.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 248,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,095,000 after buying an additional 12,649 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 17.2% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.0% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 88,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of ITW opened at $251.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $73.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $258.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.57. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two 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.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ITW. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays set a $260.00 price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.