Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Fiduciary Trust Co

Fiduciary Trust Co lowered its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,309 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $21,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ITW. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 336.0% in the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ITW shares. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.67.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $243.07 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $243.59 and its 200 day moving average is $255.97. The stock has a market cap of $71.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 52.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This trade represents 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. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.