Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Sells 634 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. cut its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 634 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,205,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,035,292,000 after buying an additional 1,238,239 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,829,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,954,691,000 after acquiring an additional 244,145 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,899,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,578,299,000 after purchasing an additional 97,568 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,951,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $773,234,000 after acquiring an additional 122,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,742,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $401,352,000 after acquiring an additional 22,238 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $245.57. 45,155 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,243,906. 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 one year low of $217.06 and a one year high of $271.15. The company has a market cap of $73.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $258.75 and a 200 day moving average of $252.03.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.82% and a net margin of 19.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 55.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 139,471 shares of company stock valued at $35,970,816. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.78.

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.