Guggenheim Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Guggenheim Capital LLC lessened its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,782 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $18,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ITW. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 910 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered 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. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $259.00 to $227.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $260.09.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total value of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director now owns 260,224 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845 over the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock traded down $4.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $226.82. 148,499 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 996,171. 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 stock has a market cap of $66.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $214.66 and a fifty-two week high of $279.13. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $249.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $257.86.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. Research analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works's payout ratio is 51.19%.

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.