Comerica Bank Sells 4,781 Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Comerica Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,522 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,781 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $17,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% in 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 grew its position in Illinois Tool Works by 3.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 508,188 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,620,491,000 after purchasing an additional 99,753 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 71,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted 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 worth $873,071,000 after buying an additional 95,925 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $256.73.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock traded up $3.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $242.26. 1,543,262 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,008,415. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $279.13. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $71.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Illinois Tool Works's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

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.