Allianz SE Acquires Shares of 710 Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Allianz SE bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $181,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $248.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $258.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.83. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $232.77 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. 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 cap of $72.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ITW. 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. 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.