Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Sells 216 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $229,269,000 after acquiring an additional 655,341 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,061,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,193,000 after purchasing an additional 63,195 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1,899.3% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 224,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,031,000 after buying an additional 213,671 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $359,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,564,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $225.25 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.49. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.88 and a 1-year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ITW shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.30.

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.