B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Purchases 8,658 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 40.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,658 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $7,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $806,291,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $203,949,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $111,209,000 after purchasing an additional 437,397 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during 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 period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,352,000 after purchasing an additional 308,935 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ITW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.30.

Insider Transactions 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 that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’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 owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $248.31 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $258.24 and its 200 day moving average is $260.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a PEG 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 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.19%.

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.