Saturna Capital Corp Cuts Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Saturna Capital Corp lowered its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 308,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $78,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.10.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 4.7 %

ITW stock opened at $255.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.36.

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 research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

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

About Illinois Tool Works

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.