Marshall Wace LLP Cuts Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Marshall Wace LLP reduced its stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 212,443 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 80,147 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.07% of Illinois Tool Works worth $53,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 186,254 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,226,000 after purchasing an additional 5,140 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 132.2% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,310,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,004,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $1,026,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ITW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $252.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $257.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $253.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $260.09.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW traded up $1.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $238.08. The stock had a trading volume of 366,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 997,973. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $248.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.50.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher A. O'herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. The trade was a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This represents a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Illinois Tool Works Company 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.