Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH reduced its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 94.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 512 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,351 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $130,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 336.0% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ITW. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $253.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Byron Smith, Jr. acquired 872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $241.16 per share, for a total transaction of $210,291.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 122,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,634,705.44. This represents a 0.71% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE ITW traded up $1.56 on Wednesday, hitting $246.82. 998,925 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,010,387. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.66 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $239.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.52.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share 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 company posted $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

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.