Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,330 shares during the quarter. Illinois Tool Works makes up approximately 1.0% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $21,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $806,291,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 26,372.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,065,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,123,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057,872 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $229,269,000 after buying an additional 655,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,465,570,000 after buying an additional 508,188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $246.82 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $239.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.52. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $279.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.77%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. purchased 872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 122,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,634,705.44. This trade represents a 0.71% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.42.

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.