KLCM Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

KLCM Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 209 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 106,553.0% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,185,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,582,902,000 after buying an additional 7,178,474 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth about $708,259,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 59.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,591,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,011,459,000 after buying an additional 1,707,780 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,205,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,035,292,000 after buying an additional 1,238,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,125,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $294,671,000 after buying an additional 675,000 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,299,844.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.83, for a total value of $12,741,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,321,252.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW stock traded down $2.62 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $251.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,032,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 974,717. The firm has a market cap of $75.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.06 and a 1-year high of $271.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $260.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 96.60% and a net margin of 18.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 57.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ITW shares. Bank of America downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Truist Financial began coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $301.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $238.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.78.

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.