B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Has $7.68 Million Stock Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 40.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 30,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,658 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $7,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at $806,291,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth about $203,949,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 36,632.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in 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 raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 318.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total transaction of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This trade represents a 21.20 % 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 valued at $42,973,845 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $248.31 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $260.83. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ITW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.30.

About Illinois Tool Works

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.