Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $359,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 178,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,337,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth $27,038,000. Finally, Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 31,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $225.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $256.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.44. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.94 and a 52-week high of $279.13. 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 company has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

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, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’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 $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ITW. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Barclays dropped 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 report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.30.

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.