Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $11.65 Million Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lowered its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 68.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 45,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 99,607 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $11,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,675,473,000 after acquiring an additional 94,601 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,620,491,000 after purchasing an additional 99,753 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,071,000 after purchasing an additional 95,925 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth about $806,291,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,516,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $638,205,000 after buying an additional 32,607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.4 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $230.68 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $249.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.86. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 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 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $259.00 to $227.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $260.09.

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.