Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 24,526 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 24,526 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $58,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ITW shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Barclays set a $260.00 price target on Illinois Tool Works and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $254.93 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.74. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $232.77 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Illinois Tool Works Profile

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.