Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 25,667 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD decreased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 867,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,667 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.29% of Illinois Tool Works worth $219,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.7% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the third quarter worth $759,000. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 6.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $6,084,000 after acquiring an additional 13,062 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ITW. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $259.00 to $227.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $260.09.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock traded up $2.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $242.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,472,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,002,518. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $247.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.01.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. On average, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.