Ernest Scott Santi Sells 70,000 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Stock

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock traded down $1.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $264.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 918,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,335. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.12. The company has a market capitalization of $77.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ITW has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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 research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.30.

Institutional Trading of Illinois Tool Works

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 336.0% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.