Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Shares Sold by Pinebridge Investments L.P.

Pinebridge Investments L.P. lessened its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 244,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 59,363 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of Illinois Tool Works worth $62,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ITW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,392,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,620,491,000 after purchasing an additional 99,753 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 1.8% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 71,934 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,443,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $873,071,000 after buying an additional 95,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at $806,291,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $260.09.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW opened at $236.49 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $248.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a twelve month low of $214.66 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.19%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In related news, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This represents a 46.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.