Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,464,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 151,387 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.17% of Illinois Tool Works worth $878,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ITW. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,580,000. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $793,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $14,974,000. Lokken Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 5,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,620,491,000 after acquiring an additional 99,753 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ITW opened at $248.93 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $257.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, 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 (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%. Analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last quarter. 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.