Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) CFO Sells $11,249,280.00 in Stock

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of ITW traded down $12.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $255.05. 1,757,409 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,086,542. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $74.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $257.80 and a 200-day moving average of $260.30.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. On average, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $806,291,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 903,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $229,269,000 after purchasing an additional 655,341 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after buying an additional 508,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,209,000 after purchasing an additional 437,397 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ITW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays set a $260.00 price objective on Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.10.

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.