Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Trims Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,676 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $14,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 3,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW opened at $253.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $258.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.40. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The company has a market capitalization of $74.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share 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, research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.37%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.19%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ITW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI cut 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.10.

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.