Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Has $241,000 Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA lowered its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $873,071,000 after buying an additional 95,925 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $1,509,000. Argyle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 2,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,519,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,161,000 after acquiring an additional 4,637 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $263.99 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $77.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $257.00 and a 200 day moving average of $259.13.

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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.26% 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.