Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Increases Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $3,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 398,676 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,729,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,774,000 after buying an additional 3,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 36,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,680,000 after acquiring an additional 3,903 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ITW. Barclays set a $260.00 target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price objective for the company 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was 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 directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was 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. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW stock opened at $251.05 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $73.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.38. 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 (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share 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%. Analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Illinois Tool Works’s 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.