Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Cuts Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE cut its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 79.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 46,835 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lyell Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $255.86 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $258.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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, 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, equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last ninety days. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ITW shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works 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.