Calamos Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 889 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $17,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,056.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,505,185.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 189,471 shares of company stock valued at $48,712,316. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.4 %

ITW traded up $1.03 on Friday, reaching $249.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 108,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,227,713. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $260.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The company has a market capitalization of $74.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.06 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 96.60% and a net margin of 18.36%. The company’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.00.

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.