Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 994 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Cannell & Spears LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 994 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $21,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pensionfund Sabic increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in 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 buying an additional 398,676 shares during the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,729,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,774,000 after acquiring an additional 3,227 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings 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 worth $106,352,000 after acquiring an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE ITW opened at $246.34 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 worth $42,973,845 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works 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.