Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 9,532 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,532 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.06% of Illinois Tool Works worth $48,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $4,180,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 23.4% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 6,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Ziegler Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $2,972,000. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ITW. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $229.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.78.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock traded up $1.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $243.92. The company had a trading volume of 909,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,218,462. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.06 and a 12-month high of $271.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $259.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.66. The company has a market capitalization of $72.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 97.82%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 55.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Illinois Tool Works news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total transaction of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,471 shares of company stock valued at $35,970,816 in the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.