Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Buys New Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 15,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,976,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $315,000. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $263,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $941,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $739,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $245.35 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.73. The firm has a market cap of $71.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13.

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

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ITW. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.67.

Illinois Tool Works 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.