Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Bought by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $6,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $806,291,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth about $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 263.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,209,000 after purchasing an additional 437,397 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, 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 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $7.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $227.68. 147,318 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 998,621. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $253.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.35.

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, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ITW. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $265.18.

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.