Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,049,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 600,808 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $519,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $266.00 to $259.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. This trade represents a 45.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ernest Scott Santi sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 260,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,516,979.20. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 159,925 shares of company stock valued at $42,973,845. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $221.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.23. The stock has a market cap of $65.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 1-year low of $215.46 and a 1-year high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 95.39% and a net margin of 21.94%. On average, analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.19%.

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.