First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 553 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. decreased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 553 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $806,291,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $203,949,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $229,269,000 after purchasing an additional 655,341 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,465,570,000 after purchasing an additional 508,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,209,000 after purchasing an additional 437,397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 in the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.3 %

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $242.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $255.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.66 and a 1-year high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ITW. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.67.

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.