King Luther Capital Management Corp Grows Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 133,904 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $33,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $203,949,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $111,209,000 after acquiring an additional 437,397 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $358,321,000 after acquiring an additional 398,676 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $106,352,000 after acquiring an additional 308,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,645,972,000 after purchasing an additional 167,422 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ITW shares. Barclays set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $269.10.

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Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 4.7 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $255.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.77 and a 1 year high of $279.13. The stock has a market cap of $74.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.36.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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