Advisors Capital Management LLC Has $626,000 Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,675,473,000 after buying an additional 94,601 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,620,491,000 after acquiring an additional 99,753 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,071,000 after acquiring an additional 95,925 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $806,291,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,516,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $638,205,000 after purchasing an additional 32,607 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $233.44 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.72. 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 cap of $68.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. Analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $259.00 to $227.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note 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 objective on the stock in a report 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, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $260.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 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.