Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Increases Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 66.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ITW. State Street Corp lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,277,127,000 after buying an additional 149,272 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,645,972,000 after acquiring an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,071,000 after acquiring an additional 95,925 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,516,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $638,205,000 after purchasing an additional 32,607 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,503,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $634,797,000 after purchasing an additional 46,287 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 in the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW opened at $255.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $257.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.36. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $232.77 and a 12 month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays set a $260.00 price objective on Illinois Tool Works and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.10.

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.