Millstone Evans Group LLC Acquires Shares of 123 Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ITW. State Street Corp increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,434,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,277,127,000 after purchasing an additional 149,272 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,645,972,000 after buying an additional 167,422 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,516,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $638,205,000 after acquiring an additional 32,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,503,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $634,797,000 after acquiring an additional 46,287 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $260.00 price target on Illinois Tool Works and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.10.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE ITW opened at $255.86 on Tuesday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.77 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $75.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $258.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.66.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS 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 predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

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.