Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Has $704,000 Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd trimmed its position in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 60.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,311 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ITW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $806,291,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter worth $203,949,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 438,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,209,000 after buying an additional 437,397 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $358,321,000 after buying an additional 398,676 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,352,000 after acquiring an additional 308,935 shares in the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $257.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.30.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ITW opened at $225.25 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.44. 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 $224.94 and a 52 week high of $279.13. The firm has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.19%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $18,431,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 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 three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.