Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $219.90 Million Position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lessened its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 867,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,667 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.29% of Illinois Tool Works worth $219,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 99,753 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 71,934 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $873,071,000 after acquiring an additional 95,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter valued at $806,291,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company's stock.

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

NYSE:ITW traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $241.93. The company had a trading volume of 518,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,401. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $246.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.79. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $214.66 and a one year high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 260,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ITW. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $269.00 to $234.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup lowered 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of 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, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $256.73.

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.