Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Director Ernest Scott Santi Sells 70,000 Shares of Stock

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.5 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $264.30 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $257.08 and its 200 day moving average is $258.29. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $77.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.41 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares during the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,729,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,774,000 after buying an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,179,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.