Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Position Reduced by Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lowered its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 60.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,311 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,675,473,000 after buying an additional 94,601 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,620,491,000 after acquiring an additional 99,753 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $873,071,000 after acquiring an additional 95,925 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $806,291,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,516,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $638,205,000 after purchasing an additional 32,607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ITW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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 cut their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 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 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Down 5.9 %

ITW opened at $225.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $256.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.44. 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 stock has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $224.94 and a 12 month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.