Capital Fund Management S.A. Reduces Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Capital Fund Management S.A. decreased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 114,188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26,211 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $28,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 261.6% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 776,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $203,619,000 after purchasing an additional 12,988 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.4% in the third quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RB Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter worth $213,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 7.7 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $235.16 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $214.66 and a 12-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 firm has a market capitalization of $68.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $253.32 and its 200-day moving average is $259.35.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.18.

Illinois Tool Works 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.