Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 99,607 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lessened its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 68.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,930 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 99,607 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $11,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% during 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 last quarter. F M Investments LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 owns 50,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ITW. Barclays cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $259.00 to $227.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $260.09.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITW traded down $2.65 on Friday, hitting $239.42. 1,285,772 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,000,535. 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's 50 day moving average price is $247.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.16. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is 51.19%.

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.