Blue Chip Partners LLC Sells 330 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Blue Chip Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 330 shares during the quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pensionfund Sabic raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,729,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth $1,179,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ITW. Citigroup reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $271.00.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.8 %

ITW opened at $257.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $76.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $258.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.38 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 paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.