D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 97,781 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. reduced its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 70.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 97,781 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $10,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. BCS Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestmont Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $245.35 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $255.73. The firm has a market cap of $71.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value 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 $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.