Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 650 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,876,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after buying an additional 398,676 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $1,729,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,774,000 after buying an additional 3,227 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 36,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,680,000 after purchasing an additional 3,903 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ITW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.10.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ITW stock opened at $256.46 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The stock has a market cap of $75.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $258.24 and a 200-day moving average of $260.45.

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, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.