Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Cuts Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,601 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $9,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 336.0% during the fourth quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on ITW shares. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $260.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $240.21 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

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.