Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 33.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,083 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $1,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 776,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $203,619,000 after purchasing an additional 12,988 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the third quarter worth $759,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 6.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,186,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 128.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 23,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,084,000 after buying an additional 13,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after acquiring an additional 398,676 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $260.09.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $239.42 on Monday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $247.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced 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 return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. Research analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.