Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Reduces Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 745,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,971 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.25% of Illinois Tool Works worth $195,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 106,553.0% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,185,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,582,902,000 after buying an additional 7,178,474 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $708,259,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 59.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,591,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,011,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707,780 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,205,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,035,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,239 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,125,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $294,671,000 after purchasing an additional 675,000 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $253.51 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $260.94 and a 200 day moving average of $250.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.33. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $217.06 and a one year high of $271.15.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 18.36% and a return on equity of 96.60%. The company’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $9,851,485.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,404 shares in the company, valued at $12,299,844.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total value of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 221,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,235,056.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 37,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $9,851,485.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,299,844.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,471 shares of company stock worth $48,712,316. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ITW shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $238.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $301.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.78.

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.