Motco Sells 1,000 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Motco lessened its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 47.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Motco’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.30.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $263.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $257.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $259.13. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The company has a market cap of $77.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

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.