Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. decreased its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 634 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ITW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,205,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,035,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,239 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,125,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $294,671,000 after buying an additional 675,000 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 23,183.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 315,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,579,000 after purchasing an additional 313,906 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 77.5% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 597,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $137,538,000 after acquiring an additional 260,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 57.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 699,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,131,000 after buying an additional 254,321 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Illinois Tool Works news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $9,851,485.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,299,844.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,471 shares of company stock valued at $35,970,816 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.7 %

ITW stock traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $245.57. 45,155 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,243,906. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $258.75 and its 200-day moving average is $252.03. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.06 and a 52-week high of $271.15. The company has a market cap of $73.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.82% and a net margin of 19.07%. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is 55.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ITW. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $303.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.78.

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.