Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 441 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. cut its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 54.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 441 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $96,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ITW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,413 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $865,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,134 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apexium Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $216,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of ITW stock opened at $246.68 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $240.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $214.66 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on ITW shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $249.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.42.

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.