Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW Stock: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Lowers Holdings

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,086 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $20,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the second quarter valued at about $6,296,349,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $603,166,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $500,748,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $221,746,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $209,959,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group set a $277.00 price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Friday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $278.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $270.00 in a report on Friday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $276.33.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CAO Matteo Pigozzo sold 277 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.22, for a total value of $80,113.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,612.68. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ernest Santi sold 60,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.87, for a total transaction of $17,572,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 266,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,000,945.71. This trade represents a 18.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 101,708 shares of company stock worth $29,546,740. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $288.01 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $238.82 and a twelve month high of $303.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The company has a market capitalization of $81.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.68.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.39% and a return on equity of 103.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 11.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a $1.72 dividend. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.32%.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) is a diversified manufacturer serving industrial and commercial customers around the world. Founded in 1912, the company is known for its decentralized operating model and focus on specialized products and solutions. ITW’s businesses make products and equipment for a range of markets, including automotive, food service, construction, welding, and testing and measurement. Its offerings include food-service equipment, welding systems and consumables, automotive components, construction products, polymers and fluids, and laboratory and electronics testing equipment.