Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 91.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 171,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 776,966 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $203,619,000 after purchasing an additional 12,988 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $759,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 128.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 23,217 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,084,000 after buying an additional 13,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ITW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $260.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $236.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $69.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $248.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.50. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.66 and a 52 week high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.19%.

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.

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