State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 400 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 79,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $20,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 69.2% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 55,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,188,000 after buying an additional 5,489 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 22,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,026,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 573,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $150,260,000 after acquiring an additional 58,674 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,249 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of 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 cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW opened at $255.01 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. 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 cap of $74.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $257.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.67.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.