Centiva Capital LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Centiva Capital LP lowered its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 34.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,040 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,326,996 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,675,473,000 after purchasing an additional 94,601 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,667,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,465,570,000 after buying an additional 508,188 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,620,491,000 after buying an additional 99,753 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,132,493 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,047,837,000 after acquiring an additional 71,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ITW shares. 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $302.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $253.67.

Insider Activity at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

ITW stock traded down $3.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $245.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,252,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,021,313. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $71.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $242.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.80.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. Illinois Tool Works's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is 52.77%.

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.