Steph & Co. Decreases Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Steph & Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $4,180,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 23.4% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 6,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Ziegler Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 135,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,506,000 after acquiring an additional 10,062 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $1,770,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.7 %

ITW stock opened at $249.54 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $260.75 and a 200-day moving average of $250.66. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.06 and a fifty-two week high of $271.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 96.60% and a net margin of 18.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 57.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Illinois Tool Works in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $301.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.00.

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.