Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 1,309 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Metis Global Partners LLC lowered its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,392 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,309 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $4,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $229.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.78.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,505,185.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.44, for a total transaction of $12,722,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,235,056.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 139,471 shares of company stock worth $35,970,816. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.5 %

ITW traded up $1.27 on Monday, hitting $245.19. 756,535 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,252,292. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.32. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.06 and a 12 month high of $271.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.14.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.09. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.82% and a net margin of 19.07%. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. Illinois Tool Works’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.23%.

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.