ING Groep NV Has $6.27 Million Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

ING Groep NV cut its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,971 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $6,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Nikulski Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $264.30 on Friday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $257.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36.

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 (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 anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.41 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ITW shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.30.

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.