Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,246 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $6,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW opened at $251.86 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $232.77 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $258.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.64.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ITW. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.30.

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.