Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Amundi

Amundi lowered its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,582,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 106,995 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $392,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 3.7 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $274.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $80.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $257.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.05.

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 net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. On average, analysts forecast 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 Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is 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.